Have been looking(online at Lowe's) at circular saws. Want to have a good
one with a finishing blade for cutting ply, and hardwood, rip and crosscut.

I use an friend's 10 year old makita. Works fine. I bought a $20 new
blade for it and use a zero-clearance insert. That was really the
key. I can cut plywood all day and get absolutly no tearout. With
just the new blade, I got tearout on the side of the plywood facing
up. I doubt any saw cabinet or otherwise could cut better. I
compared the cuts w/ my Bridgewood cabinet saw w/ a WWII on it and
could not tell the difference. Now granted, the blade won't last as
long as the WWII will, but still, it's all in the blade and insert.

-Dave