There are millions of webhosts out there. What's more important to you; reliability/competency or cheap/value?
Here's what I would do:
1) Search
WHT hosting offers forums. Make a list of 4-5 hosts that seem promising, if it looks too good to be true or the price is $20/yr I would skip those.
2)
Search for reviews of said webhosts. Take the reviews with a grain of salt.
3) Consider getting a reseller web hosting account which allows you to host multiple domains with a single account. You don't have to "resell" anything, you could have your eCommerce, personal, hobby, family and other websites under their own domains and each has it's own hosting domain, control panel, custom email addresses, etc.
Without knowing more such as your budget, if you want Linux/Windows, which scripting languages, how much disk space/bandwidth, if you have more than one domain, etc. it's difficult to offer specific suggestions. I would highly recommend checking out webhostingtalk.com just remember to do your own research and
avoid the CyberWings of the world because there are lots of them out there.
BTW you're doing it the right way (except for bluehost which is the AOL of webhosts), always separate your domain registrar, web host and content. It's easy to find a web host, finding the right web host that suits your wants and needs take a little more research.