"In-ceiling" speakers are good (and that's probably being too kind) only for low-level music-in-every-room applications. Not for even semi-serious music or home theatre applications. Do yourself a favour and avoid them.

Luckily our ears/brain combo has a tendency to get used to what we've got. Most of us will tend to grow more accustomed (and fond) of our speakers with time. That's a good thing if for no other reason that it protects the pocket book. This means that there are tons of choices out there for our own "perfect" speakers. If you can audition them in your own home, and you like them initially, you will likely love them more and more over time. If not at home, then in a reasonably good listening room - preferably somewhat similar in size etc. to what you have at home.

In my experience, it's also a pretty safe bet that if you've heard and liked something from a given manufacturer, then you'll probably like the rest of the product line. Names like Energy, Paradigm, Mirage, psb, Polk, and Def Tech come immediately to my mind since I'm familiar with how all of these brands sound. For example I'm almost 100% sure that since I love the little Paradigm Titans that I run in one of my rooms, that I would have no problem stepping up to any Paradigm floor standing model.

Jeff Mackwood