In brief I figure I would list the tools I use off the top of my head for developing .net software with a sql server back end.
1: Sql Server 2008 r2, sql server 2012 and sql server 2008 r2 express edition.
2: Sql server Management studio.
3: Visual studio .net 2010 and vs 2012 rc.
4: CodeRush from devexpress.
5: Sql Compare from Red-Gate.
6: UltraEdit and UltraCompare from IDM Software.
7: FileZilla, 7Zip, Explorer (File)
8: Outlook for email, and office communicator.
9: My own tools: UdpReader where I send udp messages via programs and check on their status.
10: Nuget, simplemvvm
11: RDP
Tools I am thinking of using for the future:
JabbR
RabbR client written by me.
SignalR for chat and logging.