I have a 42" Toshiba 1080p LCD (now with an HD-A2 connected to it: thanks wally-world). I have friends with 720p plasmas, 1080p LCDs, between 40-52". and some with DLPs up to about 65". I lived with a guy last summer who had a 65" Sony LCD Projection TV, and we spent many many hours in front of it watching hoops & even some international soccer.I've spent an unfortunate amount of time reading AVS Forums, scanning pricegrabber, amazon, etc, and here's what I can tell you:
95% of the stuff that people argue about on these forums will mean absolutely nothing to you at home. Absolutely nothing. The bottom line is that any flat screen TV from any reputable manufatcurer with any legitimate HD source material will blow away whatever non-HD setup you have right now. Even a run of the mill 720p Plasma or 37" LCD will look so much better that you'll be obsessed with it for weeks or months. More importantly, even if your set is saddled with one of these supposed fatal flaws that us geeks are obsessinga bout, you won't notice it. With these exceptions:
1. DLPs bulbs burn out and cost way too much to replace. It is a dying tech. Unless you are just trying to buy the absolute biggest 1080p screen for the buck, don't bother. If you do throw down your $$ for any giant rear projection set, including DLP, you'd better have a bigass room to put it in, cause I have a friend with a kickass Samsung 60" in a normal sized bonus room and the thing is too fvcking big. Even he knows it, and admits it at every party or get together. Why he didnt take it back and get something smaller is beyond me. It's a nice TV, but completely over the top.
2. Most plasmas rock for watching movies in dimly lit rooms. They have better viewing angles. Most plasmas have too much glare from the glass screen to put in a room with multiple windows and high sunlight. You can buy the super hind end models w/ the anti-glare coatings (not permanent, but reportedly very good), if that's your fancy, but they are pricey. Plasma rocks for watching flicks though. No 2 ways about it.
3. LCDs are extremely well rounded utilitarian displays. They kick ass at showing bright colors, epseically non-natural stuff like cgi and cartoons. They rock as monitors. They don't get hot, and havinga toddler myself, the damn thing is durable as hell.
Bottom line is - buy a 1080p LCD if you want an all around performer at a good price. Buy a high end plasma if you want the best home theater experience you can get. Don't buy DLP unless you have big tv envy. But most of all, just buy something and enjoy it, cause HDTV is like pizza or sex. Even when it's crappy, it's still pretty good.