I would go with the samsung as well. I have a sharp, and took it over to a friend's house put it next to his samsung of the same size. The colors are much better on the samsung.
For audio, you migth want to look at Harmon Kardon.
If you have a dark room in the house that's pretty good, you might want to get a projector. It's so much cooler to have your own theater. 1080P projectors could be had for about $2000 or so.
I have noticed that the 1080P tvs seem to have somewhat better color than the 720P.
Good luck.
BTW, someone higher up in retail said that a lot of the AV equipment will be a lot less expensive just after the new year due to the 'depression'.
Oh, we expect photos of you showing us the new installation when it is done. Yes, we want you in the photo.
