Well, one might argue that I am unqualified to comment, since basements are rare as hen's teeth around here, but I've lived in basement territory and I can read the NEC, so here goes:
1. You have to have at least one lampholder, switched from the top of the stairs. If you choose to have more than one light, the remainder can be pullchains if you so desire (I recommend having them all on one switch, but that's just me). Lighting does not have to be GFCI-protected, and indeed I don't recommend it.
2. My understanding is that the NEC considers finished-basement spaces to be dry locations, and unfinished spaces to be damp locations. You know and I know that that all depends on how well the basement is built, but finished spaces do not require GFCI-protected receptacles, and unfinished spaces do.
3. Other than the GFCI requirement, the damp location thing doesn't affect the selection of wiring methods or enclosure types. I have never heard of dry-location boxes being rejected in a basement, unless they were in a sump area. Unprotected NM below ceiling level, however, is usually rejected on the grounds that it is "subject to physical damage". If you sleeve the NM in EMT wherever it drops down a wall, this is usually satisfactory.
4. Nothing but the receptacles are required to be GFCI-protected. Reno's comment about an individual branch-circuit for a combustion appliance applies regardless of whether or not it is located in the basement, and GFCI protection is not required. If you have a washer, dryer, refrigerator or freezer down there, you may have a single (not duplex) receptacle for it, which does not have GFCI protection (not all jurisdictions enforce single receptacles). If you have more than one general-purpose receptacle in the basement, it must be GFCI-protected.
5. The GFCI requirement only applies to 125V, 15- and 20-A receptacles. If you have power tools down there that require 240V, GFCI protection is not required by the NEC, but I do recommend it anyway.
Hope this helps.
