I'd reccommend you find a paradigm dealer at through their website:
www.paradigm.com
I suggest them (among the MANY brands out there) for a couple reasons. First, they are very solid budget performers. They were the best to MY ears, which is why i have some, so there's some buyers bias there on my part, but i still think a lot of people agree that they are stunning value-leaders. And everyone hopefully agrees they kick the crap off any bose system in terms of sound quality. There are other brands out there too, so I always strongly urge people to listen to EVERYTHING they possibly can, as tastes differ.
Second, and very important for beginners, is that Paradigm regards itself as a "high-end" brand, even though they dominate the very low-price arena of speakers. Only recently have they developed a higher-priced line, and even then, it's not running with those speakers costing tens of thousands. My point is, that they tend to have very good dealers, and are pretty picky about that. You are more likely to get a knowledgeable dealer who will be much more helpful, then the average bozos at BB, sears, CC, GG, etc.
Hopefully you're in the northern part of NJ, as that's where the dealers are, (I lived in SJ for a long time, there's nothing much down there in terms of REAL audio... Bose is pretty much as "good" as it gets unless you take a risk on ordered speakers...
)
$1,500 should be able to get you a decent reciever, a small sub, and a fine speaker setup. You don't mention whether you have an HDTV, because if you do not, then there is no point in getting a progressive-scan DVD player, and what you have now should suffice.
I also STRONGLY recommend you get Avia or Video essentials and a radio shack SPL meter to calibrate both audio and video when you get your system down the road.
So, find a paradigm dealer near you if you can, and start, at say the performance series, atoms and titans are stellar, bring some well-recorded music CDs, and listen thoroughly to as MUCH as you can.
You may not be able to get the total simplicity of a bose system, but through the smart buying path of searching around and learning here, you should have no problems putting your system together and calibrating it, it's not as daunting as you at first think, although it can be complicated. The beginner's FAQ here is also good, it's at the top of this forum, theres a link. Good reads.
Oh, BTW, in my opinion, a paradigm system for $1500 is insulted by even trying to compare it with a bose system.
Above all, let your ears tell you what's best!
Good luck.
