most likely ... it's not the monitor.
i own a really low grade monitor, a hannspree that i paid $100 for, new. between mine, and the Dell U-series that i used at work, there is practically no difference in how clear the text is on either.
what makes the difference, is how your monitor is setup AND the windows calibration. The Windows ClearType *can* make a minor difference, but personally i never messed with that because i've had negative results as well as the barely noticeable positive ones.
my first advice is to turn DOWN, not up, the brightness of the monitor. You should never use monitors in the dark... well.. not for very long. But if you can clearly see the glow of the monitor, you have it on too bright.
your monitor will have two main settings which affect the final calibration, which are brightness, and "temperature". this second setting is the base of the color spectrum, it will have settings like 6400 (blue), 8000 (yellow) ,etc.
whichever one of these you start from as your base, you will get a different calibration.
get a monitor tester app. something as basic as this:
http://dps.uk.com/software/dpt
all you need here is the app to produce solid color.
run it and cycle the colors, then select through your monitor's UI the best temperature setting. then turn down the brightness until you cannot see glow - the monitor ideally should look like it's a printed object, not a lamp.
i'm not saying that it should not emit light, but you shouldn't be able to see clearly a halo of light coming from it' try looking at the monitor sideways.
once that's done, run the calibration software built into windows.
if your calibration software bugs out (mine does occasionally), use Calibrize or any other similar free software.
now, first thing, get some high def images of common items - coca cola cans, oranges, people, and so on - the crisper the image, the better.
turn down as much as you need to contrast, and if you need turn down the colors too. my monitor needs a massive reduction in both contrast and one color to look natural.
you want colors to look real, not phosphorescent.
through this procedure you can get a monitor which is similar, in use, to reading a newspaper. just make the fonts bigger if you need to, zoom in your chrome pages (ctrl + mousewheel),and you are set.
(if your calibration refuses to give you good results, start again with a different monitor temperature)
source: i worked 12 hour shifts in front of decrepit 1280x1024 monitors and burned my eyes all the way down to my soul.
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