I would also look into a whole house surge protector that plugs into 2 slots in your circuit breaker box. These are supposed to run around $200. Installing one is on my to-do list. I don't think that most hardware/lumber stores carry them. You will probably find them in electrical supply stores.
Edit: For surge protection, I currently have a cheapie plugged into the outlet, where it just rests on the wall providing 6 more outlets and the cheapest ($300) Monster surge protection and power conditioner plugged into that. It was somewhat of a spur of the moment decision, but I think it will work ok for me.
