DrAzzy:
For bare components, you can't beat digikey. the biggest problem with digikey for a beginner is that they have a huge selection of parts, and without experience it can be hard to figure out which one is right, even with their filtering tools.
+1
Just for variety, besides Digi-key, there are; Mouser, Allied, Newark and Jameco. Some have annoyingly long screen update times (maybe it's my PC). I've come across many other lesser known shops traveling the webs.
For free parts with no shipping costs there's:
These are almost guaranteed to have some tactile switches, an I2C EEPROM and at least an IR sensor within.