I'd say Onkyo is probably the best bang for the buck, though I've heard too many nightmare stories about their service and support, which drove me to Denon.
You can find better equipment than Denon, but not for the price and support. They have the best package for the best price these days, IMHO.
I went with a Denon 3803 and haven't looked back. I've been nothing but pleased with it. I've got a set of Polk RM7600 speakers/sub that I purchased, and it sounds great and all, but for the money I could have purchased seperates that would have offered better sound. I'm missing some mid-range in the center and front speakers and the only way around it is LARGER cabinets/drivers. I certainly don't have the ideal listening area, which is probably 50% of my gripe on the speakers, so take that into consideration. Also take into consideration that speakers are almost a "taste" item; depending on what you like in terms of sound, there are a slew of choices out there within EVERY imaginable budget.
All in all, I'm pleased with what I have, though I'm working on building a better listening environment and am going to see how that will effect things. Since it sounds like you have the chance to really set things up from scratch, I'd put a fair amount of time on insulating the hell out of the walls, putting up some sound foam around the corners of the room and getting rid of as many hard surfaces as you possibly can.
I have a friend that has a "reference" room that he poured a lot of money into making as acoustically perfect as possible. Listening to a CD in his place compared to mine is a joke; you could give me a 6-figure system and a boom box in his room would still sound better in comparison.
Good equipment is wonderful, but you can really go a long ways with proper placement, imaging and making a room as "sound-friendly" as possible.
