I use tabs the most for sites like Hacker News. First I go down command-clicking (mac) on each link I'm interested in to open maybe a dozen or so links. From there, I only navigate using command-W to close tabs. Much faster and more convenient than reloading the home page.
I also have (in Firefox) assorted tabbed groups for various tasks or interests. For example, I have a group for the Sunday NY Times that opens up tabs for Arts & Leisure, books, movies, a few other pages, that are easier to skim through if all opened in tabs at once.
