Try to snag a pair of Klipsch Heresy 2 on ebay. They usually go for around $400-$500 used. You can get them in a variety of nice wood finishes. They have a very high sensitivity so they dont need a load of power to sound good, just watch out if you have a bright sounding system as the horn tweeters and mids can sound very bright in the wrong system. Also the new Klipsch reference series is really good for rock. I own the Klipsch RF-3 and they sound awesome on rock especially with tube amps, I use a Jolida 302a and the combo absolutely rocks!!
Best used speakers around 500 for clasic rock
I'll be in the market soon for some used speakers that will sound good in my lingroom which is 13'6" x 15'6" They will be tied into a carver amp & CJ PV10. I listen to southern rock, clasic rock, blues & some jazz rock. The problem I have is that there is no other place except against the short wall with no room to come out & over unless I want to move the speakers out every time I listen to my system & even then there isn't much room to move out. I listen to alot of music I record myself in a "rock" concert setting so image & soundstage are very high priorities.