I have 2 boys (1.5 and 4) They love movies, dressing up (cowboys, pirates, knights), doctors kit (6.99 BF TRU), tool set, Thomas take along engines ( pretty cheap at WM), hot wheels cars, little people sets (for the 1&2 yr olds -a little babyish for the older boys), play doh, dinosaurs, puzzles, books, any kind of action figure.
It's hard to say what they'd like character wise. Big ones now are Diego, Spiderman, Thomas the train, Backyardigans ???
If you have a Kohl's neaby, the 50% on toys Bf is a good deal and if you spend $50 you usually get $10 Kohl's cash. Hope this helps.