Your question is huge as there are so many brands to pick from. I have been playing at this for about the past 4 months. As both mentioned above there are many under-rated speakers out there that will in fact outperform more expensive brand names. Probably read 100 speaker reviews in that time as well. My best advice is browse the shops and actually audition the speakers you may have in mind. Many times I have walked in a store and they have the speakers cranked and the sub is rolling out that 120 foot pressure wave that almost knocks you off your feet. Sounds and feels good but are you actually going to run that volume in your home. (-10 reference volume probably not). By audition I mean make the sales guy work for his money. Turn off the sub and listen to the speakers indivdualy @ normal volume. They should be crisp in the high's and robust in the lows. Some are way too bright (tinny) in the highs and muddy in the lows. Once you have listened to the speakers in question you can have the sub turned back on. By doing this you can actually tell what the individual speakers are capable of. It's mostly a personal preference thing but I think you get the drift. Another thing to keep in mind is they may sound excellent with a 5.1 movie but might not make the cut when listening to music. Most of the reviews I have read have good advice. Don't be cheap when it comes to the Center channel and Sub. Good luck and good hunting.