Thanks to those who have offered help or alternative suggestions.
To the guy who suggested I research, well this is my research. I haven't found a site that has comprehensive side-by-side comparisons/reviews of systems but if you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear of some. The reason we are primarily looking at Bose systems right now is to be honest, because of their rep and a few listens at friends' places. We're not audiophiles but we were impressed by the room-filling sound and the clarity for the size. Judging from the reactions here I guess there's much better to be had for the money and that's partly why I posted. So far the Nakamichi Soundspace, Adire Kanada, Acoustic-Research, Anthony Gallo, and JBL lines look cool, I'll look into these. Does anyone know what places carry them that have demos?
I think our price range will completely max out at $1000 for a system, but for us to spend that much it would have to really kick ass. We are looking for just a Lifestyle-type system, with satellites that are small but powerful. A good sub is always a plus, but we probably don't have room for anything huge. It's primarily going to be for music and home theater use. d1abolic, I would guess it will be used for CD, DVD, VHS and audio tapes. Lifestyle-sized would be nice but not necessary, just no large speakers other than the sub.