Prime Lenses – an Introduction digital Photography School has a nice primer out on the basic differences between prime and zoom lenses. For those of you who are unfamiliar with what the differences are, this is a good place to start.
I shoot primarily with prime lenses. I’m frequently asked which lenses are my favorites and I’d have to say that in general (even as expensive as it is) I’d recommend Canon L Series lenses. My favorite is the 135mm f/2. I also like the 24 f/1.4 quite a bit as well. I’d concur also with this article that the Canon EF100 is a great (relatively) attractively priced macro.