I've been working on an independent guide of public records databases for some time now.  My conclusion is that if you are looking for free public records, then contact your local court.  Why pay someone when you can make a call or two and get the information directly from the source? 

Besides, visiting the court gives you a working knowledge of the public records system, and it's amazing what you can find when looking though the records.  Criminal, civil, marriage, divorce, custody, bankruptcy, driving, property and voters records can all be searched.  Some states and counties even offer online access.  Typically there will be a small charge if you need to make document copies.

If you are too lazy to make phone calls (like me!), these subscription based programs have given excellent performance:

Search Public Records
 

 

The advantage is that they offer online database access without the hassle of dealing with the courts directly.  The downside is that they all require a modest fee to access.

 

Update: 

 

I must be getting more lazy by the day, I can hardly bring myself to go down to the court house when I know I can just login and

get the same access to public records without the hassle of leaving the house!

 

Some points to remember when looking for public records:

 

Most businesses offering access to databases specialize in something particular, yet a few attempt to offer all sorts of available records to professionals in the legal, risk management, corporate, government, law enforcement, accounting and academic markets. Certain unscrupulous companies, who sell software with a promise of unlimited access to public records, generally provide nothing more than just basic information on how to access already available and generally free public Websites.

All records maintained by state and local agencies are available for public inspection unless law specifically exempts them. You are entitled to access to public records under reasonable conditions, and to copies of those records upon paying the costs of making the copy. In most cases, you do not have to explain why you want the records. However, specific information may be necessary to process your request. An agency may require information necessary to establish if disclosure would violate certain provisions of law.

Each state has its own version of FOIA. There are many degrees of accessibility to public records between states, with some making it fairly easy to request and receive documents, and others with many exemptions and restricted categories of documents. One state that is fairly responsive to public records requests is New York, which utilizes the Committee on Open Government to assist citizens with their requests. A state that is fairly restrictive in how they respond to public records requests is Pennsylvania, where the law currently presumes that all documents are exempt from disclosure, unless they can be proven otherwise.

A requester does not have to provide his or her identity or the intended use of the requested public record(s). It is the State Library’s general policy that this information is not to be requested. In some cases, however, such information could enhance the ability of the State Library to identify, locate, and/or deliver responsive public records in response to the request.

Property records are open for public inspection. When you purchase a home or other real estate, a record of the transaction is made by the County Assessor's office and the County Recorder's office. The files maintained by the Assessor, Tax Collector and/or Recorder contain the location of the property, current owner's name, address and previous owners' names, dates of sale, description of the property and the approximate value of the real estate holding. These files are increasingly made available on the Internet by county government agencies and by information brokers.