Ask HN: Best domain registrar?

I've been working on web development and other web-related work for quite a while now, and as I've been freelancing for almost a year and am thinking about relocating to Silicon Valley, as well as hoping to start sharing as much with the HN community as I have (so far silently) gotten out of it, I've realized it's time to begin a web presence. Though I've been doing web development for a while, I've never actually purchased a domain name myself. I already asked this question (http://webmasters.stackexchange.com/questions/35569/on-what-criteria-should-i-evaluate-domain-registrars) which helped a bit, but I'm still looking for more information on this.

What are your personal domain registrar picks, and why? I'm looking to buy 3-5 domain names, if this helps.

Also, if you have any overwhelming recommendations on sleek/customizable blogging platforms for the tech-savvy guy, feel free to include those as well.