My understanding is that LCDs use less power and weigh less than equivalent size plasmas, but they tend to be more expensive. The new upper end LCDs, e.g. 1080p Sony XBR, have excellent picture quality and high refresh rates. The new Pioneer Elite and Fujitsu plasmas look great as well. I too have an old well loved 36" Sony XBR CRT, and its black level may be superior to our two new Sony LCDs, but not the overall picture quality in my judgement.
I don't go to either Best Buy (not sure there is one in Santa Barbara) or Circuit City (heard they were closing the store) to look for a TV set. Making judgements about picture quality without knowledge of the signal being fed to the TV or how it is set up makes little sense to me. In my experience, mass marketers drive a zillion TVs from a single source and do a horrible job (if not right out of the box) of setting up their TVs. Specialty stores will usually match their prices model for model, but may not carry the lower end of a product line. Caveat emptor!
db
I don't go to either Best Buy (not sure there is one in Santa Barbara) or Circuit City (heard they were closing the store) to look for a TV set. Making judgements about picture quality without knowledge of the signal being fed to the TV or how it is set up makes little sense to me. In my experience, mass marketers drive a zillion TVs from a single source and do a horrible job (if not right out of the box) of setting up their TVs. Specialty stores will usually match their prices model for model, but may not carry the lower end of a product line. Caveat emptor!
db