I'll be an outlier here and recommend the Stanley chisels. I wouldn't suggest going with the set of 8 as it's just overkill, but instead get the set of 4 plus a 1/8". You're looking at less than $150 for a decent set of chisels at that point.
I've used my dad's Lie-Nielsen socket chisels, and honestly, I felt the Stanley chisels were just as balanced. By no means am I an expert, just a general observation here. The Stanley chisels can also take a decent beating (except for the 3/4 I had to send back to Stanley for snapping below the socket weld) and they will take a wonderful edge (sharpen them and they'll easily cut paper without effort, shave an arm). My only complaint about them was that they had some hefty machine marks when I got them, but that was 3 years ago (or maybe 2), so maybe that's changed. Oh, and they're covered with a layer of lacquer that you might want to remove.
Anyway, I have the Stanley set of 8 and I don't regret buying it one bit. They're mid-priced chisels; go into it expecting an LN chisel, you'll be disappointed. Go into them expecting a Lowe's FatMax, you'll be shocked.
The Barefoot Woodworker.
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