I couldn't agree more about having trouble finding the parts you want on disty search engines. The best thing to do is use the filters but even then it can be overwhelming. That's exactly why having a common parts library is useful. It just helps narrow your scope a bit. If all you need is a simple indictor LED then you're search is over. 1K resistor, done. It should take 80% of the effort out of building a BOM. The rest is obviously up to your specific design.

I agree, I would love an EDA extension. I think Octopart is thinking/working on this.

This is the most promising installer at this point but it's still not very usable: http://discuss.wayneandlayne.com/t/new-os-x-builder/73/18

Gotta say, there are lots of Kicad dmgs out there, but I have yet to see one actually work well. I'm not sure I've even seen one described as working well by the person posting it.

As Sam mentioned about, this is definitely something they'll be working on. If you use some of these parts and have a known working footprint, I'm sure they'd appreciate your help.

There is not a good central repository for KiCAD parts, and on the client side the process for managing components or creating new ones is very convoluted. KiCAD is tremendously useful, but its creators need to take a serious look at usability. A cloud-based parts library would be a killer feature, along with drop-in public domain circuit "modules" (comprised of several to many connected components).

As Sam mentioned about, this is definitely something they'll be working on. If you use some of these parts and have a known working footprint, I'm sure they'd appreciate your help.

What kind of projects do you work on that finding things at Digi-Key and Mouser is not easy? What kinds of components are difficult for you to source?

If you're looking for specific types of components within a broader range (such as you want a < 10 ppm SMD crystal at a strange frequency), sure, I can see finding something like a suitable crystal being less than easy. But for normal components (everything Digi-Key sells is "normal" to me) I have a hard time understanding how changing Digi-Key's search tool would make it better.

Many ICs are produced for specific purposes for a short time and are never made again. As a "pro-am", its hard to navigate this part of the supply chain. Ostensibly a common part library would have smart people looking to make sure that a part remained source-able in the long term. If the idea became big enough, the CPL would cause these chosen parts to be so.