I'm playing lacrosse next year in college (Denison D3) so I've been doing alot of lifting/running and what not and trying to get bigger/stronger. I've been taking Creatine, I actually just finished the container today and I've definitely gotten stronger but idk if it's b.c. of consistent lifting or if the Creatine has really made a difference.

So, what do you recommend I buy this time around? Should I stick with Creatine or is there something else that's better and more effective? What in your opinion is the best supplement to take while lifting? Any suggestions would be great, thanks in advance.

If I could only pick 1 supplement I would probably go with whey protein powder. I like Optimum Nutrition brand.

Fish oil is awesome too.

However, I think if your diet is good supplements aren't really necessary.

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Whey protein is good.

But 4,000 calories of food heavy on the protein and light on the trans fats every day is even better.

This. What HARDMAN said is also true. I wouldn't know about Optimum Nutrition, all I have ever tried has been Body Fortress Whey Protein(which is garbage) and BSN Syntha-6(which is delicious and blends really well and doesn't give me any stomach problems).

However, if it works for you(it isn't that effective for me) I would recommend N.O. Xplode for before workouts. Everyone I know who takes it says it works really great for them, it works moderately for me. If you can't afford multiple supplements, just stay with protein powder and a multivitamin. Don't listen to that "if you have a clean diet you wont need it" talk about multivitamins. With the huge amount soil composition and growing conditions vary, two identical looking pieces of vegetables could be nutritionally rich(vitamin speaking) or poor. So taking a multivitamin ensures you aren't gambling with the amount of vitamin intake you are getting(although you still sort of are, since scientists are still likely to isolate more vitamins we haven't discovered yet).

Ideally, protein powder, multivitamin, fish oil, creatine, and glutamine.

No-xplode is literally insane if you need a boost to get motivated and some violent pressure to press out a few extra reps.

Whey Protein is a must, syntha 6 is straight dank, you would swear your having a $5 milk shake(p.fiction haha). I use some BCAA's caps along with multivitamins and a bit of creatine on the side.Body fortress whey protein is cheap as hell and it contains a dump load of other shit in it(BCAA's, creatine etc.) For $15 a tub you cant expect top of the line taste for the price.

You should get some Whey protein, I don't mind the unflavoured stuff as I'm not too fussed about the taste. It really is cheap when comparing the price you pay for protein content within most foods. Consider the price of one chicken breast (or two) and that's got the same protein as 1 or 2 scoops depending on the brand, and 1 or 2 scoops costs you a small amount these days. However I prefer eating real food.

Again, creatine is dirt cheap as well, some people swear by it, so just try it, for the cost of a months supply you might as well.

Vitamins and Fish Oil are probably good for your overall health, plenty of people taking these now.

I usually take no supplements, unless I feel I've not had enough protein I simply get a whey protein shake. I was on and off creatine for a bit but have never given it a full run through, I want to try it out though.

You don't need supplements, but for the price, why not give them a bash. Just don't rely on them entirely.

Stick to what's tried and tested and make sure you have a good diet to supplement in the first place.

BCAA's will help you recover from workouts faster, so grab a big bottle. You should take them at least a couple of times a day.

NO Xplode never worked at all for me, never understood why.
You can try it, but I prefer Gaspari Superpump 250, or NO Shotgun, the latter of which tastes like strawberry flavored shit mixed with baboon piss, but works pretty good.

Multivitamin, preferably one made from whole foods so you get the phytonutrients that arent in synthetic vitamins.

Protein powder. I always used ON's mixed protein, but I got a little sick of it. I used Gaspari's IntraPro chocolate now, pretty good stuff.

I just supp with Zinc and Magnesium suppliment and L-glutamine. The only two things I don't think I can get from food.

First of all, +1 for playing lacrosse. Diesel sport, great to see a fellow LAX player.

Anyway, here are some of the more common supplements:

Creatine - (You already take it, so I'll assume you know what it does)

NO2 - Also referenced by some other replies as NO-Explode. NO2 is a vasodilator, which means it causes your blood vessels to dilate. This effectively gives you more energy during your workout, but an interesting side effect is that other supplements you take soon after taking NO2 will be absorbed better.

Tribulus - An extract from a flower that naturally increases your testosterone levels. It's not actually test, it just signals your body to make more of it. It has none of the bad side effects that steroids has (except for possibly increased acne) because this testosterone is endogenous.

Muscle Milk - Good protein, and tasty as hell. If you read the label, you'll notice that it's high in fat, but the fat is specially engineered so that you don't store it. You use it or you use it.

Some cheap GNC Whey protein.

And Glucosamine and Chondroitin for my joints.