Good LCD HDTV?

Bump.

That's why I would consider a Panasonic, Sony or Samsung over all second tier brands for both picture & reliability. Slightly lower in my estimation, are Sharp Aquos & Toshiba.

That's why I tend to set aside Viewsonic, Insignia, Vizio, Westinghouse & all other no name house brands.

I just had to need for a 27" maximum TV for an RV. Considering those available locally in a major city of around 3-4 million or so, I found about a half dozen good candidates. I deferred to the technician experienced in RV installations for whatever experience related preferences he had. He opted for a Toshiba. I figure at times you must judge if you are going trust another or not.

Under general circumstances I tend to look online rather than Best Buy. I feel they often don't have the latest models & not the most competitive prices. Also, I feel they tend to make special price negotiated buys of stale &/or undistinguished merchandise.

I also just bought a big screen TV to replace my primary set at home. I definitely decided from among those sellers with favorable reliability customer feedback from the shopping sites like here a C/NET (shopping.com) & over at ResellerRatings.com.

You shouldn't have much bother finding decent choices in the LCD 26"-32" segment. In 16:9 ratio widescreen HDTVs the vertical dimension is relatively compromised to, instead promote the horizontal capability. That is why size matters with this decision. Bigger tends to be better with these. Obviously, the larger 32" ones are somewhat more expensive than the 26" ones. And the budget is doable, at least for 26"size.