If you want performance and no "unnecessary tools" consider Home Basic. It's the lean version of Vista - very comparable to XP, but with a dramatically better look and feel. If you want slick UI graphics and lots of built-in media tools, go with Home Premium. Home Basic actually is a very attractive UI and has the search, kernel, and security that you want.
Microsoft's list of features in the different versions is here:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/editions/choose.mspx. That list of features kind of implies that Home Basic can't view pictures or show videos, it can, very much like Windows XP does, with Media Player and the built-in picture tool similar to that in Windows XP. I don't know how much value "Windows Mobility Center" holds for laptop owners, that alone may be reason enough to go with home premium. As a Home Basic user, most of the "features" in the list are not things I would ever use.
