What is the best and worst stock evaluation tool you have run into?

I'm not a trader. I want to put my money into 5 or six stocks, leave them for a year, sell or hold them and hopefully beat the DJI. I made the mistake of using the IBD stock check up tool for one of my picks just to see how well it worked. My other picks I just did some basic research for each company and tried to find those with strong growth in sales and who managed to consistently meet or be their earnings estimates.
Now that IBD pick that was "BEST OF THE GROUP" has dropped 35% because the company missed it's earnings target by 10%. I called IBD and politely canceled my subscription and told them I just wasn't using their service enough to justify the money. I told them I get more useful information out of Yahoo finance.
I still hold that stock hoping it will recover but I keep thinking I put too much trust in investment tools. I do better doing my own research.
Have any of you had similar experiences? Do you think there are good and bad stock evaluation tools?

If you're talking about web sites like Motley Fool, or guru's like Kramer or some specific software forget it. The best tool is research via Yahoo, MSN, Motley, etc. And sometimes hunches. ;)

I really like quicken's stock evaluation tool. Another one, if you like to look up the numbers for yourself, is the Rule Number 1 calculator that Phil Town created. I believe that site is Rule1.com? but I just used the same info and built my own calculator in excel.

The best stock evaluation tool in my opinion is: you plain and simple. If you take the time to learn where and what to look for, then you will find good stocks to buy. Like they say "there's not such thing as a free lunch", you have to take the time and make the effort to do the research. You already made the first mistake by saying that you want to buy 5 or 6 stocks and leave them for a year. That's like driving a car on the highway, pressing the cruise control button, and jumping to the back seat. If you ever look at a one year chart of any stock, you'll see many ups and downs. You have to wait for the stock to tell you it's time to buy and when it's time to sell. Not in a year or whatever time window you give yourself.