It depends on whether you have a particular name in mind or just want a general list.
Things you can do for the major TLDs, viz. com, net, org, info, biz, mobi, us, in - when you have a particular name in mind.
Do a check of the whois at
"www.who.is"
using a TLD "not" of interest to you.
It will show all the expired names as available. But don't use the purchase link right away. Now check each TLD's whois and you can see the current status like redemption, pendingdelete etc.
Remember NOT to do frequent/excessive whois searches of the exact domain name you are eying!
Note the expiration date. Not all domains are released at fixed schedule after the expiration date. About a week or 10 days near the probable release date go to the Name.com delete listing utility at (they call it the domain nabber)
"www.name.com/delete_list.php"
You can directly come to this list if you are just looking generally (instead of a specific keyword). The page there is quite user friendly, just remember to uncheck the "data analyzer" for TLDs other than COM.
Also remember to do a general search with options like
"all dates"
"all" losing registrars
search term "begins with" / "ends with" etc.
(never do an exact domain name search)
If you find the name you like - don't click around it - just note the release date. Now go back to who.is and find the exact release time.
Come back to the delete list page on the release date about an hour or two before the impending release. Go ahead and do a back-order.
I have picked some nice names in the past. Name.com also has a deleted names list which they run continuously. Explore around the Name.com portal for a lot of goodies.
You can find some good, already deleted names from PremiumDrops.com. I picked up a PR5, 2 PR4 and quite a few PR3 and PR2s from their lists in the past.
JustDropped.com too has given me some good names.
Another place you can find some good names for cheap are the GoDaddy $5 sales/closeouts. Become a TDNAM (Godaddy domain auctions) member for $4.99 a year and browse their lists.
And the daddy of them all are the downloadable appraised drop lists available at: "http://www.estibot.com/drops.php". Please note you must be a member to view these lists (membership is free).
By the way, there still are a lot of good 2 and 3 keyword domain names available for registration. You can find names that match your required keyword(s) using the "domain idea tool" at:
"www.estibot.com/longtail.php"
Best of luck!
Sri.
