I agree with what Ron has said....but i have over the years cut it down even further.
I find i use just five different patterns in just one size...covering 99 percent of my fishing...other than Drennan Loafer which i carry in a few sizes.
Floats i carry:
Drennan Giant Loaded Crystal in 4gram size
Drennan Insert Loaded Crystal in 3gram size
Drennan Giant Crystal in 4gram size
Drennan Straight Crystal Waggler 2 1/2 Swan size
Drennan Loafer 1 Swan up to 5 Swan size
( Oops..looks like an advert for Drennan
)
The thing i have noticed about this is i now know these floats extremely well, and can cope with a large variety of conditions and know how to shot them up for different situations automatically.
I also tend to use larger floats than i used to nowadays....i find this makes life much easier, and does not affect the sensitivity of the float if shotted correctly
What Graham said is correct...i used to buy floats every time i went into the tackle shop as a kid because they all looked great!!!!
Choose a few quality ones...most nowadays are of good quality....pick ones with decent shotting capacities as this will make casting easier...
ps....buying feeders is the same...dont get me going on that subject as well!!!!