[Jim727]

The timing of this thread couldn't be better - the wife and I are preparing for the same purchase.

Just checked several places and did vid testing. Don't like plasma at all - image has too much persistence and any high-contrast rapid motion has a blur which I found instantly annoying. Also all plasma sets had high-reflectivity screens. That's a no-go in our house as there will be too much reflection. Make sure you test them with something (like a window) behind you.

Magnolia has a Sharp LCD 42" (LC42D62U) that is 1080p and a fantastic image. Had the salesman bring up regular analog broadcast and, though clearly not as good as the HD, it was essentially what we have with our current set. Plenty good enough. The set is about $2K - not bad for 1080p. Biggest drawback is the lack of a PC VGA input -- that is the only thing that kept us from taking one with us immediately.