List of Navigational Stars

Here is a list of the brightest and most famous stars.
Sailors have used these for a long time for determining
position at sea.
Since these are brighter, and easier to see, they
are often used by amateur astronomers to align
computerized telescopes, and otherwise find their
way around the sky.

http://www.saguaroastro.org/content/NAVIGATION-STARS-FOR-EQUINOX-2000.htm

Brighter stars along the ecliptic:
These often get blocked by the moon at times,
and they are good to know for positioning
at various seasons:

Regulus, in Leo, blue, late winter, early spring

Spica, in Virgo, blue, spring.

Antares, in Scorpius, red, early summer

Aldebaran, in Taurus, orange, late fall.