I've narrowed my search down to a Yamaha HTR-5240. Seems to be the best bang for the buck, and havent heard a bad thing about it. ('cept for the remote). Does anyone have any hot recommendations for a 5.1 speaker package? Looking for something between $200-$500. I was considering getting the Yamaha YHT-23 which comes with the 5240 and 5 speakers and a subwoofer, but havent been able to audition them anywhere. Does anyone have this and recommend it highly? Also, can I expect good sound from CD's in addition to just DVD's from satelite speakers? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I think the Yamaha speakers are just OK and the subs are usually unimpressive to downright sloppy. YMMV. If you've got $500, look into Energy speakers, which are often recommended. You can search this forum for "energy take 5" for more info.

i'd stretch that budget a bit into some nice bookshelves. paradigm minimonitors and energy e:XL16s leap to mind. Home Theater Direct level 3s have a following as well, but i haven't heard them.