'great' bookshelf speakers for under 500?

Paradigm Titans are excellent for around $200. Their drivers are better than some speakers over a grand.

Omega Super 3. I've heard most of the speakers on this list and/or their more expensive bretheren, and the Omegas are really something special. I far prefer the Super 3 to the more expensive Grande 6 and Grande 8. At this price point they are very very unusual. For instance, in some aspects of transparency they reminded me of the $16,000 Avantgarde Duo. The Omega Super 3 is so interesting that I could never recommend them to a random stranger without audition. But I would strongly suggest trying to hear them if you possibly can.

These are somewhat large for bookshelves, and $100 over the budget, but these Morel 403.5's are awesome for $600 shipped:
http://www.morelusa.com/home/mlp-403-5.htm

You can pay an extra $40 and get Dennis Murphy's custom
crossover, which REALLY takes them to a whole new level:

http://www.madisound.com/cgi-bin/discuss.cgi?read=327900

I have the PSB Image 2B for $300 and the PSB Stratus Mini(lists for $1100, but bought used here for $480). Both are great speakers. Not sure which I like the best. The Image B25 is a slightly upgraded Image 2B and did get a rave review from Stereophile as the best speaker under$500.

Ascend Acoustics CBM-170 are a great buy.