I need to find a good realtor in my area, but there are so many out there. How do I narrow them down?

I’ve been preparing my finances to buy a house. Been saving for months, paid down student loans, and I just pre-qualified for a good mortgage. Last weekend I went on a trek, armed with nothing more than a notepad, pen, camera, and my GPS Blackberry.

I went through as many neighborhoods as I could in one day, documenting everything, but by the end of it I felt as lost as when I began.

I thought with the real estate sites available today, I would have little use for a realtor. I think I am probably wrong now. So how do I find a good one?

Bonus question: How do I find a realtor that can help me into my first house now, with intentions of presenting investment properties to me in the near future? I would like to start with a realtor specializing in REOs or improvement properties just so I can start out on a real estate investing side-career.

Thanks for the help.