recommendation for volt ohm meter

If you have a local hi-fi shop and want to save some money they should be able to order a digital multi-meter for you. THey should be able to get you the same thing that Lowes has for about half the price. The digital meters are so cheap now that you might as well go with a digital. The analog meters work fine though. Try to get one that has an audible continuity indicator feature. This can be useful. If you want a real fancy one like the electricians use you can drop big bucks on a whiz-bang-do-everything-under-the-sun meter from a wholesale electronics supply store.

Radio Shack is a great place to get an affordable digital VOM meter. They have them in very resonable prices and are easily accurate enough.

I recommend a digital VOM, as most of them have high internal resistance(won't load the tested circuit). I would get one 2nd or 3rd from the cheapest available, as some dirt cheap ones are probably not so great (you get what you pay for...)

I agree with those who suggest a digital Volt-Ohm meter. Here is a link to those at Radio Shack (since you mentioned them).

Multimeter

The little yellow multimeter with the giant display looks easy to use and is only $19.95. I would not be afraid to use it to bias my tube amps.