Need Help

With today’s tech, take a peak at the Simaudio Ace, for a lot less you could go with the Pioneer Elite SX-S30.
I have no idea what speakers you’re wanting to push. 50 watts @ 8 ohms would suffice with 150 watt 8 ohm speakers.

$3000 budget for all 3 things (speakers, sub, and receiver), or $3000 for just the receiver?

$3k is not low at all. I've installed complete high end systems for some very satisfied customers that were $1200 to $2500. Complete systems. Complete means source, amp, speakers, interconnects, speaker cables, power cords, and Cones. That's the key: complete. Things like power cords and speaker cables are not accessories. They are every bit as essential components as the amp and speakers. You need to include them in your budget.

Right now you're confused because the options seem endless with no clear way of figuring it all out. In reality there is a very clear and systematic way and it is proven to work.

First you go and listen to everything in your price range. A $3k budget works out, in round numbers, to about $1k each for amp, speakers, and wire. Listen to everything you can find in this range. Wire breaks down to interconnects, speaker cables, power cords. How many of each depends on your choice of amp. Either way you can see already we have narrowed infinity down to a manageable range to audition.

Now in the process of listening I can just about guarantee you will decide you do not want a receiver after all. There simply are no receivers made that will give you the sound quality of a similarly priced integrated amp. Listening is a learning experience and that is one of the first things you will learn.

The next is you get a lot more for the money with two good speakers than two plus a sub. Don't ask why the world is pushing subs on you if that's the case, just listen and hear for yourself. 

Ditto interconnects, power cords, speaker cables. With $1k total for all you are looking at $200-300 for each. Don't even consider any component that won't accept a power cord. That's not their way of saving you money. That's their way of telling you they just aren't serious about sound quality.

Notice all this is based on what you hear. Only way to go. Notice I am recommending a process only and not any particular piece of gear. Buying based on looks or specs or advice or anything else is setting yourself up to fail. So get off the internet, get out there, and listen.

Woah, woah, woah, @millercarbon, spending $1K on interconnects for a $3000 system? If so, those priorities are so messed up. 
 
Speakers should never be less than 1/2 the total budget (unless buying used). 
 
@kdogone, assuming $3000 is total, I would get bookshelves instead of towers, the subwoofer’s whole purpose is to handle the bass notes, so why not get an excellent bookshelf for the same price as a good tower?  
 
Keeping with what you want though: 
 
* Chane A5.4 towers, around $925 shipped (or more for faster shipping); search online, nothing but praise for Chane, and measurements to back it up.  
* Rythmik L12 for a small room, Rythmik LV12F or HSU VT2- MK5 for a large room, between $525-$675 shipped. Don’t be mislead, ported subs from these companies are very “musical”, more so than sealed subs from a few other brands. 
 
Leaving around $1500. Now, don’t believe what you read online, Denon and Marantz, at least now, are near identical, some minor sound/performance difference, but a Denon is more similar sounding to a Marantz than any other brand. 

I would get the Denon X3500H factory refurb for $800 ($1000 new). 
 
You’ll want to run Audyssey, but also pay the $20 for their app to edit the default curve, you’ll want to turn off Midrange compensation, and change the target curve from a mostly flat line to a slope down one, a starting point is 20Hz being 10dB louder than 20kHz; here’s an older Harman target curve, and it’s free to tweak to your liking. Most dislike you find online for Audyssey (which is not abundant) is because the default curve is not good, and this helps fix that. 
 
With the savings, you could go dual subs, or add it into room treatment. 
 
If you want cables that are a decent setup up from generic but aren’t flashy, Blue Jeans is always good. I would personally look at Ghent Audio for all cables, downside is wait time (2-3 weeks, as all are handmade and made to order, you can do customs lengths too, like 6ft 3in instead of just 6ft) and they usually use Canare, Belden, etc. all well respected and well measuring cable wire companies. I would not spend a lot on the subwoofer cable though.

Agree with others above about going out and listening to as many different speakers as you can, and absolutely bring a variety your own music you like to listen to.  The more speakers you listen to, the more you'll start to zero in on the things that are important to you and what you value most.  Once you find them, then you can focus on an AVR that can drive them appropriately.  Go have fun!