Mark,
Since you've been a member here for 6 months or so, you may have already done a fair amount of research. If so, forgive the duplication below.
What size room will your HT be? That may well affect your choice of TV (viewing distance) and sound.. ie, will you be looking for tower or bookshelf speakers? Do you like to listen to music/DVDs loud? (reference level)
I've also bought stuff from Onecall and certainly have no complaints... would recommend them. And there are some other good mailorder sources like Oade brothers, J&R, etc. But I have mixed feelings about buying something like a TV mailorder. I've heard that Onecall does a great job w/r/t customer service should you have a problem, but they are also on the other side of the country from you. I'd recommend a Sears' pricematch if Sears still does that.
If you already know what you want, the 'net can be a great source of value. If you need lots of guidance and help with the various components, a local dealer may offer the best value. Frankly, your best $$ values will be via internet purchases, from receiver or separates, speakers, DVD players, to TV. But again, for something like the TV, consider the hassle of trying to get a problem fixed locally vs long-distance. It's one thing to box a receiver up for repairs.. quite another for a TV.
Speakers are another difficult choice because everyone has different ears (thankfully!). I found it confusing to listen to speakers locally because they were all in different settings/rooms with different amps, etc. There was no way to "remember" just how that last set of speakers sounded at the other store.
There are many variables to how speakers can sound, so the best bet would be if you can do home auditions of speakers with your equipment in your room. If cost will be a primary concern, then your best value will likely again be in an internet speaker company, but you lose the ability to hear before you buy. OTOH, most if not all have a return option with x days in-home tral. SVS, for example has a 45 day trial. I believe Axiom is 30 days. So for the price of return shipping, you get to "rent" the sound for a month or more. That's not a bad option. But equally tough to A/B unless you bring in a number of different speakers at the same time!
Here are a few well reviewed internet speaker companies:
http://www.axiomaudio.com/
http://www.norh.com/ (a bit on the different side)
http://www.ascendacoustics.com/
http://av123.com/divaproducts.html
http://www.atlantictechnology.com/
http://www.hometheaterdirect.com/
http://www.svsubwoofers.com/
http://www.hsuresearch.com/
My personal thoughts are to NOT skimp on the sub. I can furnish a lengthy thread to support that if you are into the research thing.
You've got a lot of ground to cover in order to decide what YOU want in your HT setup. I'd recommend that you take your time and decide what's important to you... with a little guidance from the knowledge base here and at other HT sites. It's easy to want to buy NOW since you have the money and are ready.. and hard to take the time to do the research. I think you will be well served to take your time.
.. my humble opinion, fwiw..
