I don't save a character unless their total attributes have a sum of 92 or better. My best ever roll is 97, which is an average of 16 in each stat, which honestly is pretty absurd.

You'll want STR 18/something, DEX 17+, CON 16-17, INT 18. WIS and CHA can be dump stats, since you'll get potions and items that can increase these. Non-fighter-type classes don't get any bonus for CON past 16, so there's little reason to go over that. Higher STR/extra numbers are better, but don't stress about these too much. As long as it's at least 18/01 you're doing well. Note that only fighter-type classes get the extra number. Your DEX should be as high as possible regardless of class. Also note that for most stats, you don't get ANY bonuses if the stat is lower than 15. This is one of the weirdest quirks about the 2nd edition AD&D system that BG uses. A character with 14s in each stat is functionally equivalent to a character with 9s in each stat.

tl;dr
STR 18/xx
DEX 18
CON 16
INT 18
WIS 12
CHA 10
/tl;dr

Ignoring exceptional strength, the maximum roll total you can get is 108 (18 * 6)

I used to try for a minimum of 80 to 85 points . The character recommended by bevinator has a total of 92 points, and is pretty damn good. :)

Now-a-days I don't have the patience for endless rolling, so I use Gate Keeper / Shadow Keeper to create a decent character if I can't roll one in five minutes.

Thanks guys, I ended up go with a fighter/berserker any how. I was able to roll 18/00 for strength while maxing everything else important. I used intelligence as a dump stat, bad idea? Another thing bothering me is I just cant get into the game. By rights Baldur's Gate should be one of my most favorite games. I can't figure why it's boring me.

Fighter multiclasses do benefit from over 16 con, so if you take fighter/mage multiclass definitely take 18 con. Wisdom is useless, you can dump it to the minimum. If you get a good roll you can take high cha, else lower it.

Optimal stats:

str:18/00 (but 18/01-18/99 is sufficient)
dex:18 (19 for elf)
con:18 (17 for elf)
int:18 (19 for gnome)
wis:minimum
cha:rest

I recommend taking a gnome fighter/illusionist for one free spell per day and casting level.

Weapon proficiencies are very important. Start with ** in bow and ** in a melee weapon type (I'd take large swords)

Did you read the manual yet? That's good help for beginners and experienced players alike.

If you want to powergame with your F/M, load up on strength, intelligence, constitution & dexterity.

If you want to roleplay your F/M, then think your protagonist through (how you want him/her to be, reasons for alignment, backstory etc), and grant his/her ability scores accordingly.

Maxed stats are best for roleplaying, mediocre stats will make the game harder and drive you even more towards metagaming and exploiting the game engine. You're something special, the protagonist of the game, not a wimp hiding behind NPCs.

Which sum of stats you should aim for depends how skilled and fast you are in judging a roll and how much time you want to spend creating your character.
A stat sum of 85+ is quite good and should be reachable quite fast, if you're extremely patient or lucky you can even get more than 90. My best roll was 98 which took me only about half an hour, so I thought I could do better. But in the hours that followed I couldn't even get more than 94.
Use the store button when you get a good roll, when you get a better roll replace the stored one. When you don't want to roll any more take the stored roll and create your character.

I usually go with a low strength, because there is a spell called Strength that lasts for quite some time. Clerics have "Strength of one" that boosts the whole party too, and there are some items boosts strength.

Edit.

Nothing to see here. Move along.