Recommendations for modest budget

You can find a system within your budget. Just shop around and get your money’s worth.

There will be a member that says you need to spend $4000, and another member that will tell you a $4000 system is junk, you should spend at least $8000. And another that says... you get the picture. Bigger fish eat bigger fish, like everything, cars, houses, planes, islands, etc.

Just get a system you can afford and enjoy it, you’ll be fine. 

Best-

I am in the same situation as the OP and a novice.  I found a great article that gave me a good starting point.  Using the other links provided above you can definitely get in under 2.5K for a 4K system. 

https://www.audioholics.com/recommended-systems/2500-5.1-channel-recommended-system

Question for the forum - as I evaluate some of the smaller receivers (50W per channel vs. 100W per channel) how can I evaluate if I will over power or under power a selected set of speakers?

Additionally, as I look at future expand-ability are there any concerns buying a 5.1 channel receiver and only hooking up 2.1 channels (or 7.2 and hooking a 2.1 or 5.1 speaker set-up)? 

My next biggest concern is dual voltage equipment as some of the places I live have primarily 220V...  Still researching that one. 

Sam

Amp power required depends upon Speaker characteristics, primarily impedence and sensitivity.  Keep in mind that that a low watt amp may sound fine most of the time but struggle with sudden increases in demand, either with music or with video.  Also keep in mind that power ratings for AVRs can be misleading, as manufacturers tend to sum what is delivered in each channel and report that number, so a 50 watt AVR may truly be 25 watts, for example, in 2 channel.  I once had a slimline Marantz AVR rated at 50 watts and it sounded awful and clipped easily.