The 6502 was as general-purpose as anything else. WDC still makes them, although you'd probably want the 65C02, which can also do a Vcc of 5.0 or 3.3 volts. I

The 6502 was as general-purpose as anything else. WDC still makes them, although you'd probably want the 65C02, which can also do a Vcc of 5.0 or 3.3 volts. I think z80's are more popular in home-brews because there's a ton of free(-ish) CP/M software out there that can easily be used.