Home theater setup recommendations?

Following up from my prior post and adhering to those principles, here is a system I put together for my brother's friend who was in a similar situation and was also ready to check the dreaded "Bose" default option.  He wasn't willing to deal with the used market, so I stuck to direct sellers and heavily discounted items (all with very good reviews) to keep the cost down.  The whole shebang cost about $2500 (plus cables, but I just used some old ones I had hanging around), and after getting it set up and dialed in he was totally blown away by the results.  And I have to say even I was shocked at the level of performance for that amount of money.  I'd bet your daughter would be absolutely thrilled by it as well if she considers Bose good.  Here are the speakers, sub, and receiver he bought...

https://www.aperionaudio.com/collections/open-box-closeout-speakers/products/open-box-intimus-5t-tow...

https://www.aperionaudio.com/collections/intimus-speakers/products/intimus-5c-center-channel-speaker...

https://www.aperionaudio.com/collections/intimus-speakers/products/intimus-4b-satellite-speaker-pair...

https://www.svsound.com/products/sb-2000

https://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/yamrxa870bl/yamaha-rx-a870-7.2-ch-x-100-watts-net...

I chose a Yamaha receiver for him because they get high ratings for sound, are fairly user friendly, and have been very reliable (many other brands that sound good have very spotty reliability records).  As a prior poster mentioned, I myself would be sorely tempted to buy a used Anthem MRX710, but used it's still more than double the price of the above Yamaha that sounded great when I heard it.  I'm sure the Anthem would sound even better, but that'd be up to you (and the budget) if they'd appreciate the difference.  I own the same sub myself, and despite being a sealed box design it can literally shake my fairly large family room with movies but is quick and tight enough to blend with music too -- and it's not very big, which is really nice.  It goes down to an honest 20Hz and feels every bit of it.  Anyway...

As someone mentioned above, I have no idea of the size of the room, budget, etc. so I wouldn't presume to think this would be the right system for your daughter.  I'm just throwing something out there that I found to work well so hoping it just gives you some ideas for your situation.  Best of luck. 

"Running two sets of Vandy 2's, L-R-LR-RR might be amazing and I don't think you'd miss a sub-woofer with a setup like that to keep things a bit simpler."

I used to think like this too until I cobbled together my own HT by starting with my dedicated 2-channel rig.  Having gone through this I will say my strong opinion is that two of the most critical pieces for a truly entertaining HT experience are a good subwoofer and center speaker.  I started with front L/R speakers that went down to 28Hz, and when I added a sub it was a total game changer from an enjoyment perspective.  Plus, good subs these days aren't terribly expensive relative to the added fun they bring to the table.

Similarly, skimping on or buying a compromised center speaker will greatly degrade the whole HT experience as about 80% or so of what we hear from movies comes from the center speaker.  The best center speakers I've heard have the tweeter located directly above a dedicated midrange driver flanked by a couple midwoofs.  I think that's because this configuration tends to sound more uniform from left to right across seating positions, and they extend low enough to forcefully and faithfully reproduce lower mids when called for (think Darth Vader's voice as one example).  Can't tell you how many homes I've been to where if they just ponied up an extra $100 or so for their center speaker their HT experience would be at a completely different level.  Penny wise and pound foolish IMO. 

Lastly, if I'm skimping anywhere it'd be for the rear speakers.  And yes, IME at least one pair of rear speakers is absolutely necessary to achieve a real, immersive HT experience.  However, I've heard several excellent home theaters (including my own) that use relatively cheap monitors or in-ceiling speakers, and they do the job just fine IMHO as long as they're set up properly.  Is it better to use better speakers back there?  Sure, but the dollar trade off gets kinda steep as upgrading another component instead often outweighs the benefits of better surrounds.  Again, just my experience. 

Wow, this went longer than I planned.  Sorry.  Anyway, just thought I'd share my experience as a stereo guy who transitioned to HT in case it helps you make some choices and maybe potentially avoid some costly mistakes.  I've got some specific recommendations I'll add later FWIW.