for cables:
www.monoprice.com
I prefer the look of plasma over lcd - more filmic to my eyes. Burn-in happens but it is temporary and not an issue if you don't leave static images up on screen.
The Pioneer Kuro is the "gold standard" for black quality last time I nosed around. I have a 1080p Panasonic 42" that looks very nice.
Depends on what you watch and the look you desire. I don't really watch much sports, instead films on DVD. I didn't see any LCD monitors that could touch the plasma wrt what I thought the cinematography should look like.