Re: Good system, below 1999?
As Ed says, you're not going to get a really immersive surround experience with a soundbar...there's only so much psychoacoustics can do. I'll let you do your own research on Bose... ;-)
Thinking small and discrete. It's well under your budget, but I've become a big fan of the
Spherex closeouts at Parts-Express. Currently only $75 for a 5.0 set with free shipping (they also sell additional pairs if you want to go 7.0). I just ceiling mounted a set of these (after painting white) for my parents and liked them enough that I ordered another set for my own living room system. Don't be put off by the Xbox tie in, these use Mirage Omnisat technology...Spherex was a sister company with Mirage before it folded. Google will turn up favorable reviews from HomeTheaterMag, The Audio Critic, and others.
If you're the DIY type, you can retrofit the driver in the included sub module with something a bit better and add an amp. The Spherex driver isn't up to the quality of the rest of the system. I simply built a new sub for my parents b/c the Spherex cabinet's dimensions didn't work with my intended placement. The $30 shielded DVC8 would be a good choice with a 70-100 watt amp. If you're not the DIY type, any number of subs would work, but P-E also has
this relatively small Hsu design for $199. Whatever sub you go with, it needs to be able to play cleanly up to 150hz if you go with the Spherex satellites.
I'll second Ed with the Onkyo lineup. I chose a 506 for my parents since I don't see them watching too many disc sources. Again, for budget, you can stalk ShopOnkyo for refurbs. I use an Onkyo 805 in my dedicated theater room. Yamaha is another good brand to look at, either the 663 or 863 would be in your budget.
For disc players, the Sony 350 Ed mentioned was $222 at Amazon earlier today. I've decided to go with the Panasonic BD35 myself, for just a bit more money.
-Brent
