So by request, here's a list of spells that will actually remove your opponents from combat from levels one through nine for Wizards and Sorcerers. If you keep a few of these on hand at each level, you'll probably have something level appropriate to do against your enemies.
There are also a crap tonne of other spells that serve functions as utility spells (knock, daylight), completely abusive utility spells (scry, shrink item), mobility spells (teleport, fly), buff spells (magic circle against evil, mindblank), and situational spells (shatter, slide). There will be times when you need to use these spells to complete adventures or crush your enemies super hard. But this is just a list of spells that you can use to remove enemies from play.
Level 1
- color spray
- grease
- powerword pain (RotD)
- seething eyebain (BoVD)
- silent image
- sleep
- wall of smoke (SpC)
Level 2
- blindness
- cloud of bewilderment (SpC)
- ghoul touch
- glitterdust
- lam's finger darts (BoVD)
- phantasmal assailants (SpC)
- shadowspray (SpC)
- web
Level 3
- deep slumber
- flashburst (SpC)
- great thunderclap (SpC)
- major image
- mesmerizing glare (SpC)
- nauseating breath (SpC)
- shadow binding (SpC)
- shivering touch (Cold Outside)
- stinking cloud
- vertigo field (PHB2)
Level 4
- call of stone
- charm monster
- evard's black tentacles
- fear
- finger of agony (Complete Mage)
- iceweb (Cold Outside)
- phantasmal killer
- solid fog
- greater rebuke (SpC)
- wall of good (SpC)
- wings of flurry (RotD)
Level 5
- baleful polymorph
- call forth the beast (HoH)
- cloudkill
- flesh to ice (Cold Outside)
- friend to foe (PHB2)
- hold monster
- illusory feast (SpC)
- magic jar
- touch of vecna (complete mage)
- wall of force
- wall of stone
- wrack (SpC)
Level 6
- acid fog
- endless slumber (Complete Mage)
- entomb (Cold Outside)
- eyebite
- flesh to stone
- freezing fog (SpC)
- freezing glance (Cold Outside)
- heartfreeze (Cold Outside)
- mudslide (Wet Outside)
- programmed image
Level 7
- forcecage
- hiss of sleep (SpC)
- evil glare (SpC)
- finger of death
- prismatic spray
- final rebuke (SpC)
Level 8
- mass charm
- flensing (SpC)
- maze
- Otto's irresistable dance
- polymorph any object
- power word stun
- trap the soul
- wrathful castigation (SpC)
Level 9
- detonate (PHB2)
- dominate monster
- frostfell
- imprisonment
- mass hold monster
- mindrape (BoVD)
- reality maelstrom (SpC)
- shapechange
- temporal stasis
- wail of the banshee
- weird
Ugh. So much crap that you have to wade through to find this stuff.
Edit: Added stuff from "It's Cold Outside".
-Username17