Zenith D52WLCD 52-Inch LCD Projection HDTV-Ready TV
Unless you want it on your wall, this is the way to go.
Got it by the Super Bowl for my first HD game.  The shipping company (Eagle USA) was phenomenal.  They worked with me to make sure the thing got there on time (Thanks Alex!).  <br />The TV itself is incredible.  Out of the box and fired up in a couple of minutes.  It's pretty light and easy to maneuver despite its size (make sure you know what you're getting into size wise, i.e. break out the tape measurer before you order it -- take it from a guy who didn't).  The brightness and clarity are incredible and the RC and on screen displays are very intuitive and easy to work.  It also has every input/output under the sun.  The only downside (and it's very minor) is that it takes a few seconds to light up once it's turned on and a few more to brighten up, and the glare on such a large, polished screen is annoying in a bright room (obviously not unique to this TV).  DVDs look incredible on it and HDTV is stunning.  The built-in audio is pretty good, but I'm not much of a connoisseur when it comes to sound.  <br />This TV lines up great against Plasma or LCD.  As far as I'm concerned the *only* reason you'd get the latter is to hang the thing on the wall (and punish your wallet) -- for the cost difference you could add a few square feet to your house.  <br />Zenith's got a winner here.