That sucks. I'm sorry to hear of your experience at the retail level. That kind of attitude gives the hobby a bad name, whether on the retail level or just person-to-person.
The tough part of your question is the clean slate - there are literally hundreds, perhaps thousands of pairings that would fit the bill of providing a good investment in good sound. You ARE starting with some good advice (or instinct) in seeking the pairing of amp and speaker together as that is very important. You are going to get a wide variety of responses to this question, and can look up similar threads where that's proven out over and over. There's no right answer, and lots of different "flavors" as it were. A few things you might provide to hone down your possible responses is the type of music you prefer listening to, and at what volume. The room dimensions help (I'd try to put your system on the long wall, or perhaps asymmetrically in a corner if possible), indicating a moderate size listening space. I would assume that you are looking for an integrated amp (vs. separate preamp and amplifier) - you should correct this if I'm wrong. As a rule, and certainly based upon the kind of retail experience your local store is offering up, you'll get way more bang for the buck in buying used from a reliable source (someone with abundant good feedback) here on A'gon, or perhaps from some of the more friendly dealers who are willing to spend some time with a few emails or phone calls (on that front I'd recommend Walter Liederman who is Underwoodwally here - he is discriminating as to what he sells and seems to seek out some really nice starter components at good prices, as well as having good options throughout the range. No connection - only a few purchases and several happy friends who I've sent to him). There are certainly other good dealers who advertise here. Buying used can be a bit daunting as a newbie - if you have knowledgeable friends who might help it may take some concerns away. You can get some great deals buying used, but there is certainly some amount of risk involved. I've had tremendous luck over the years...really no real bad experiences to speak of buying or selling here.
Ultimately it will help a whole lot if you can get out and listen to some options with the music you enjoy, whether at friends or your obnoxious dealer. Get some sense of what kind of components you prefer.
I'll give you a few possible integrated amp + speaker combinations - as I said, there could be thousands:
Brand new:
Rega R5 (floorstanding speakers) + Rega Mira 3 - A bit over your range but good synergy, and good bang-for buck.
Used:
Klipsch Forte II's (old school looks - great versatile speaker for not a lot of $) or Soliloquy (no longer in business so no replacement drivers but they come very cheap for what they offer - worth the risk?) or Silverline floorstanders + Unison Unico (SE) amp or Manley Stingray or one of the PrimaLuna integrateds.
Which you actually choose to combine would be important - just some broad recommendations for now. You'll get lots more.
The tough part of your question is the clean slate - there are literally hundreds, perhaps thousands of pairings that would fit the bill of providing a good investment in good sound. You ARE starting with some good advice (or instinct) in seeking the pairing of amp and speaker together as that is very important. You are going to get a wide variety of responses to this question, and can look up similar threads where that's proven out over and over. There's no right answer, and lots of different "flavors" as it were. A few things you might provide to hone down your possible responses is the type of music you prefer listening to, and at what volume. The room dimensions help (I'd try to put your system on the long wall, or perhaps asymmetrically in a corner if possible), indicating a moderate size listening space. I would assume that you are looking for an integrated amp (vs. separate preamp and amplifier) - you should correct this if I'm wrong. As a rule, and certainly based upon the kind of retail experience your local store is offering up, you'll get way more bang for the buck in buying used from a reliable source (someone with abundant good feedback) here on A'gon, or perhaps from some of the more friendly dealers who are willing to spend some time with a few emails or phone calls (on that front I'd recommend Walter Liederman who is Underwoodwally here - he is discriminating as to what he sells and seems to seek out some really nice starter components at good prices, as well as having good options throughout the range. No connection - only a few purchases and several happy friends who I've sent to him). There are certainly other good dealers who advertise here. Buying used can be a bit daunting as a newbie - if you have knowledgeable friends who might help it may take some concerns away. You can get some great deals buying used, but there is certainly some amount of risk involved. I've had tremendous luck over the years...really no real bad experiences to speak of buying or selling here.
Ultimately it will help a whole lot if you can get out and listen to some options with the music you enjoy, whether at friends or your obnoxious dealer. Get some sense of what kind of components you prefer.
I'll give you a few possible integrated amp + speaker combinations - as I said, there could be thousands:
Brand new:
Rega R5 (floorstanding speakers) + Rega Mira 3 - A bit over your range but good synergy, and good bang-for buck.
Used:
Klipsch Forte II's (old school looks - great versatile speaker for not a lot of $) or Soliloquy (no longer in business so no replacement drivers but they come very cheap for what they offer - worth the risk?) or Silverline floorstanders + Unison Unico (SE) amp or Manley Stingray or one of the PrimaLuna integrateds.
Which you actually choose to combine would be important - just some broad recommendations for now. You'll get lots more.