If you can find a Denon receiver in your price range, jump at the chance. Amazing quality, upgradeability, and just all around great to work with.
Speakers... and there will be a few people on this board who've heard of them, I wholeheartedly recommend Cambridge Soundworks. In whatever price range you buy their speakers, you'll get twice that price's quality, easily. The $150 sub/sat system that I have (5 satellites, plus one non-powered 8" sub) is more than capable of handling the enormously loud sounds that I can put through them at 100w/ch, and the sub, although passive, does rumble a little bit.
Check out
www.hifi.com for details. Unfortunately, CSW isn't in many cities, but, you may just have one near you-
www.cambridgesoundworks.com. There's a store locator on the site. For an example... here's a real good speaker package-
Movie Works 108 Home Theater Speaker System Some people will rant and rave about Monster Cable this, Monster Cable that, but, you don't need to spend that type of money on cabling, esp. on shorter runs. Speaker cable... don't get the cheapest you can find, but, don't spend a lot, either. You're not building a high-end dedicated theater, you're going for an entertainment room. You won't notice the difference in quality. The connectivity cables (audio and video) shouldn't cost you that much $, but, again, don't get the cheapest you find.
