Reddit mentions of Sparkfun 500 1/4W Resistor Kit

Amazon prime works out really well for me in general. Prices are more than they would be if you ordered from a chinese site, but cheaper than places like Adafruit or Sparkfun. And two day shipping.

At this point, I always buy in bulk for the most part. Just makes sense financially. Also, it sucks working on a project and you are missing one component or value of resistor and you need to order it and wait. These are the things that it makes sense to buy in bulk.

• Resistors
  
• Capacitors
  
• LEDs
  
• Switches (push buttons in particular)
  
• Sensors (maybe get a kit that includes various ones)
  
• Jumper cables and wires
  
• Various sizes of PC boards
  
• Other things that are good to have: various potentiometers, breadboards, various IC, power regulators, and of course TOOLS (wire cutters, wire strippers, quality needle nose pliers, soldering iron, small screwdriver set)
  
  
  I suggest this for a bulk resistor kit, there are cheaper options for lots of resistors, but its amazing how well it keeps them organized.
  https://www.amazon.com/Sparkfun-500-4W-Resistor-Kit/dp/B008MH97I4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1491070938&sr=8-1&keywords=sparkfun+resistor+kit

I mean, define compatible. I'm confused about what you're looking for exactly. If it is rated for the power specifications you need and terminates in a way that you know how to work with there's not too much more you need to worry about. If you post your circuit we can maybe give you some better guidance, but I think as long as you get reasonably-rated through hole versions of your parts you are going to be fine.

Do you have a base stock of parts like caps and resistors? If not, this Electronic Suprise Box is a cheap shotgun method of getting a base stock going, plus you usually get a decent selection of LEDs, switches, or whatever else they sweep off the table in to your box. If you don't want to dedicate a ton of time to sorting them, you can order kits like this and this.

If you're wanting to better understand how this stuff all works, then check out Getting Started In Electronics by Forrest Mims. You won't regret it.

Most importantly--and I can't stress this enough--RadioShack should be your last resort. You'll pay 10x as much for terrible components. Things that cost pennies on Mouser or DigiKey will be dollars there.