Not looking for anything fancy, as this will only be for occasional use. Want something that will last though and work "out of the box". Will be used on a BB, nothing too crazy as far as springs go.

Sears brand will work ok for that

I've got a Lisle lever type compressor that grips the spring, allows you to remove it and keeps the spring compressed and held in the tool's jaws until you reinstall. It will work with the head on the engine. It works okay, not great. I had to beef up the welds on it because I was stronger than the tool and tore out the factory welds.

I prefer the similar style compressor but with a screw handle rather than a lever.