[CrazyEyez]

I recently bought one and did a lot of research ahead of time, so I'll throw in my two cents.

For your price range, you can get a 42" or smaller RPLCD, DLP, or CRT. CRT are the cheapest of those. Flat panel LCD or plasma are > $2k.

If you don't want the weight, then eliminate CRT. However, you said that's not a deal breaker. So here's your choice: CRT offers better picture quality, especially with standard definition, but will weigh 150-200 lbs compared to 65 for RPLCD or DLP.

You are going to want to spend some time in the store watching SD material. Note that SD quality varies from channel to channel, program to program. So try many different sources/shows. Some SD stuff looks great on my RPLCD, some sucks. ALso note that digital cable stations and satellite stations in SD are going to look better than analog stations. And make sure when you check them out in stores, you view from the same distance that you'll be at in your living room.

Viewing angle may or may not be important to you. If you want to be able to see the picture from less than straight on, then RPLCD > DLP > CRT.

LCD and DLP have advantages and disadvantages. Google "DLP vs LCD" and such and you'll see the pros/cons. Things to look for: rainbow effect, black levels, screen door effect (SDE).

Once you decide on your desired technology, find a few models from bestbuy.com or amazon or something. Then I would search avsforum.com for those models. That place can be hard to wade through, so I recommend google for researching technologies and then avsforum for specific models. When you're reading, note the dates that articles were written because a lot of issues from the past have been improved upon/corrected in recent months/years.

Lastly, FWIW I got a Sony KDFE42A10 RPLCD a couple weeks ago. Brief review:
HD - No complaints. Looks fantastic.
SD - (DirecTV) some things look awful, like golf. But most programs range somewhere between decent and very good. I came from a 27" Wega non-hd crt which had a tremendous picture, so I had high standards. Black levels are not very good and shadow detail is weak, but I'm getting used to it.
DVD - I have a non-progressive, non-upconverting dvd player, so the tv is doing the upconverting/deinterlacing. 24 is really all I've watched so far. It doesn't look as good as HD stuff, but it looks far better than SD programming. In other words, it's very good. Would possibly be even better with a better DVD player. Black level issues are present but less noticeable than SD tv stuff.

Hope this helps and isn't too long.