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Does your browser perform like a 98-pound weakling? Does it lack tone and definition as it schleps from one boring link to the next or drags around looking for search results? Then maybe it's time to expose that lightweight to some physical culture and sculpt its Web surfing muscles.

Browser add-ons are the protein shakes of the Web. These low-cost or free utilities promise to beef up your surfing experience by adding features your current browser implements poorly or not at all. But just as some fitness aids aren't worth their weight, some surfing utilities won't do much to turn your browser into the hero of the beach. And hundreds of programs are out there. Which ones are worth trying? So you can gain without pain, we scoured store shelves as well as all the major shareware sites, including Tucows and PC World Online's FileWorld. Altogether, we reviewed 38 promising utilities. Though our Best Buys may not give Navigator or Internet Explorer buns of steel, we promise you'll notice an improved physique, making the Net faster, easier, and more interesting to use.