As has been said, you definitely want to find speakers that sound the best to YOUR ears. After all, you're the one who will be listening to them. Don't let a salesperson talk you into something that you don't really like the sound of, you'll just be sour about it and you'll be more and more so as time goes on. Usually if you go to an actual audio store and avoid CC and the like, you shouldn't have too much trouble with that sort of thing (at least that's been my experience!).

Also, try to audition speakers with similar components driving them. If you listen in one place with a really powerful setup behind it, and then another with something frail driving them, it is not a fair comparison of the speakers.

Finally, gonk knows I couldn't possibly let a thread like this go by without mentioning my choice. I really like the sound of Boston Acoustics speakers. The have some pretty affordable 5.1 setups that can be adapted to be apartment friendly. My uncle and I both set up home theaters near the same time, and completely independent of each other. In fact, we didn't even know we were both setting systems up. We both chose Boston's System 9000 (retail about $1k). Mine is in a house and I can get it cranked up pretty good and it sounds/feels great. He lives in an apartment and enjoys nice full sound without blowing out the neighbors. Additionally, I got a deal on the unused match to one of the floor demos which matched the fronts in my set; so I've got a nice 6th channel as well.

I think someone else mentioned it already, but you definitely want to spend as much as your budget will allow on the speakers. You'll upgrade other portions of your system looooong before your speakers if you choose wisely.

Remember, half the fun is looking around and seeking out those hard to find pieces. Enjoy the process and happy hunting! Be sure and report back how you do. We love to hear about each other's systems! Also feel free to ask away with any other questions you might have.

And Lena, at least you're not meandering!