After reading as much as I could in this forum and a few others, here's the system I came up with:

Pioneer VSX-45TX - $800
Axiom M60ti, VP150, QS8 - $1620
SVS 2531pc+ - $775

For a grand total of $3195. Ideally, I'd like to get the price down to $2700. Any ideas? Maybe a cheaper (but still good) receiver?

BTW - My boyfriend came home last night with a Bose Lifestyle 28 - and I was like nooooooooo. So I'm going crazy trying to come up with something that will sound good for around the same price.