If there was an answer to that question, HTF would probably not exist. There are a lot of good speakers in all price ranges, and it is mostly subjective within each price range.
u have to look around and find your thaaang.... i can recommend some good brands:
polk lsi (maybe rti if u want to) paradigm reference studio onix rockets onix reference (bstock on that budget... well maybe stretch the budget to 4.5g) klipsch reference axiom aperion audio htd level 4 speakers ascend bw
im sure im forgetting some... my order of preference:
1. onix reference (havent heard, but im sure i like it.. hahahaha) 2. onix rockets 3. polk lsi 4. paradigm reference sigs then studio 5. klipsch, axiom and the rest in some sort of order... not known yet.
Room size? Openings? Any preferences? Music vs. HT? Any restrictions? Sub needed? For HT, my still up for grabs blue/silver nOrh 4.0s are excellent. See ad in Hardware For Sale Forum.