Good survey papers are worth their weight in gold. Reading and digesting a thoughtful, constructive, and well-researched survey can save you a lot of work. It can also save you from making poor choices in your own research, or even from "re-inventing the wheel".
For these reasons, The Journal of Economic Surveys is a great resource. Over the years it has published some really fine peer-reviewed survey articles, many of which I've benefited from personally.
Another piece of good news is that Wiley (the journal's publisher) makes a number of the most highly-cited articles available for free.