Bjorn Rorslett has a very intelligent, comprehensive, easy-to-read set of reviews of a great many Nikon lenses. I'd recommend you check it out to see which good ones do what you want:
http://www.naturfotograf.com/index2.html(Then go to the "Lenses" link.)
I have the 18-200 DX VR lens for my D300, and, while it's obviously not as good as a good prime, it's about as good as you can get for a do-everything walk-around lens, as long as you don't mind some distortion at the extremes (so it's not so good for architecture, but fine for everything else).
Keep in mind that DX lenses will be considerably smaller and lighter than non-DX lenses, which is an advantage to them. Considerably cheaper than comparable non-DX lenses, too. On the other hand, if you plan to trade up to a full-frame camera any time soon, your DX lenses will be useless.
My 2 cents...
Lisa