Newbie looking for speakers

+ 1 on what audionoobie said (good advice).

My suggestion is to build your system in "stages," so that you can buy the best of what you like and can afford at that particular time period. Doing things this way will satisfy your itch to upgrade your system, which affects most of us in this hobby. I consider it a bad year if I don't either upgrade a component or (more likely) add at least one meaningful  tweak to my system. So.....

STAGE 1: buy your components (I'm assuming you'll start with an integrated amp, speakers, CD player and/or turntable).

STAGE 2: high quality interconnects, power cords and speaker cables.

Rule # 1 - never pay full price for these items. There are so many good options in the used marketplace (including Audiogon). Plus, there are some manufacturers that will sell to you direct at a significant discount; so, do your research there. An additional benefit of buying used cables is not having to deal with the break in period.

STAGE 3: Power conditioning and/or possibly a separate DAC or subwoofer. Perhaps you'll get lucky and find an integrated amp with a built - in DAC that you like and can live with for awhile.

STAGE 4:   Let the "tweaking" begin. Whether it's for component isolation, RFI/EFI noise issues, connectivity, etc, you can get as immersed in this as you want and at a very affordable price. This would include tube rolling, if you end up with any tubed components.

Doing things this way will probably take you many years, which will keep you passionately involved in this hobby. You'll be researching all kinds of things and constantly learning about this wonderful hobby (same might say affliction). There is a great group of people on this site, so continue to read the daily forums because you will learn a lot.

Bottom line: good luck in your search and happy listening!

What kind of music do you listen to? How do you listen to it? IMO that drives everything else. 

I listen to "age of vinyl" music that lacks the bright sound of modern music. It also lacks the show-off your subwoofer deep notes. Not my generation. For me clean, tight bass with punch and definition is a must. I need strong, accurate highs with weight. I also listen to some of the modern stuff including trance. 

I bought a pair of Sonus faber Venere 3.0, a center and 2 walls for $3.5k new. I bought a Krell Showcase processor and 5 channel amp on here for under $2k. I have a Rel T9i sub - not your shake the walls sub but accurate and clean. 

All totaled that system set me back $6k. I have an old 1995 JVC receiver that I use for older music that actually sounds great ($50?) 

I may not have the most awesome audio system in the world but I do not care. I love it. In the end that is all that really matters. Never take your mind off that. Follow your ears. 

So you asked for speakers. The smartest audio purchase I ever made is the Ascend Acoustics Sierra Tower with RAAL tweeter. Costs a bit under $3,000 and I couldn't be happier.

Powering them with a Rogue ST-90, Perseus Pre-amp and Cambridge Azur streamer.

I am pretty happy

Thanks everyone for their response!