jasoncallen
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+1 for the 18-70 AFS.
It's the best non-2.8 zoom lens I've ever used on film, DX, or FX digital.
Let it be said that I'm a lens hopper... I bought a D40 kit, but sold my 18-55 AFS b/c I upgraded to the 18-200. I enjoyed that lens for a long time (by my estimates, ~20,000 shots over 10 months!), but I sold it eventually because I found it's wide-open aperture shots to be too soft for paid shoots. I got the D90 last September, and I sold the 18-105 AFS VR that came with it because I found it to have unacceptable barrel distortion on the wide-end, but the VR was nice. I replaced my midrange zoom with the Tamron 17-50 f/2.8, which is AWESOME if you can get one for ~$300. I sometimes beatup my equipment, and the Tamron left me wondering if it'd hold up to rough treatment... it was built solidly, but made of plastic.
I parted with that Tamron lens to get the 18-70 AFS and a 50mm f/1.8 for the same amount of cash... more "bang" for the buck 
The 18-70 AFS is razor sharp, pulls in a decent amount of light across the whole focal range (f/3.5-4.5... Canon would call that a constant f/4 ) fast focusing, all-metal construction, has a metal lens mount, covers all of the focal lengths that most people find useful for walk-around conditions, and it takes relatively inexpensive 67mm wide filters!
The only "better" consumer-level Nikon zoom in the range is the 16-85mm AFS VR, which ads a little more range and VR at the cost of light intake. Image quality on the 18-70 AFS is (to my eyes) comparable to the Nikon pro f/2.8 AFS lenses (17-55, 24-70, and 28-70). I can't say enough nice things about this lens!
Depending on the ceiling of your budget, the Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 might also be worth considering (if you need f/2.8 max aperture across all focal lengths), but the 18-70 would be my choice between the two. If you want to save more cash, the 18-55 AFS is just as good, but slower focusing and mostly plastic.
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