The yamaha magic stomp is a great little unit to have a look at, it is a bit limited but plenty of bang for the buck and whilst we may not be guitarists, we are Bass guitarists, a bit like pick or fingers, effect or no effect, never limit yourself, if good enough adopt any and all technique and effect, that works for the song imho.
I use Boss pedals cause they're cheap, available, and imo work great. I have a Boss Chorus, Overdrive, and the cheap guitar Crybaby, even though all I really use is the Overdrive. I've had the Chorus since August and it still works fine, and I've been pretty rough on it. Can't comment on the Overdrive cause its newer. And the Crybaby is a year old and still works great.
What works for me (after a lot of research and swapping around) is :
Korg DT10 Tuner
Electro-Harmonix Little Big Muff (for Fuzz - but would like to try out the new Bass Big Muff)
Ibanez CS-9 Chorus
Akai Deep Impact (Synth)
Akai UniBass (Octaver / Distortion)