That is a big question Tekome. A very general one. Personally, I don't use chromatic scales very much. Seventh, ninth, eleventh and thirteenth chords are used to color your playing many ways. Major sevenths have a certain sound that it different a great deal compared to a dominant seventh. Listen to them and see where they might fit. Most of the time triads would work in a given passage, but the extended chord adds a lot. A specific question about one type of chord might generate more responses. Also, a search might help.
