just another note, but you might want to consider some used units that are in that price range as well. some of the better units are usually kept in decent shape by their owners, and you can get great deals.
i went through this purchase (m22ti speakers and a ~$300 2-ch integrated amp) about a year ago, and settled on an Arcam Delta 290 that i'm extremely happy with. i, too, was shopping for my first REAL stereo system, and was looking for something primarily for music (although movies do sound great through this setup). the arcam was around $300, and has great warm sound, several inputs including a nice phono stage, and A/B speaker outs.
other used units i looked at that are usually in that price range include the Creek 4330, nad c350, & cambridge a500- all reviews i read mentioned these were great sounding 2-ch amps.
a great site for used audio pieces (i think i even saw a creek 4330 recently in the classifieds):
http://www.audiogon.com
the only bad thing with these is that most of them are just integrated amps (no radio tuner). but i picked up a used denon tuner ($40 shipped) that works fine.
just another $.02.
