Rock and roll speakers?

Rock-

older speaker-wise, look no further than Infinity Crescendo series (early 1990's). These are still outstanding for Rock/Hard Rock/Metal music.

A newer design and my reference loudspeaker- Thiel CS 2.4 or CS 2.7. Yes, these will go beyond your stated budget, but, you will look no further. Plays (no pun) Rock music of all kinds, as well as, Jazz / Classical to boot.
These babies love high -power / high-current amps.

Keep me posted & Happy Listening!

You're welcome Rockanroller. That's cool you're getting something out of all of this. Klipsch and JBL are both good choices, you just have to decide which one is best for you.

Note that playing anything other than Rock and Roll through speakers like these can cause permanent damage.

$1500 gets one in Revel F12 territory...and that's a good place to be...

That's actually a good speaker from what I've heard! Thanks for mentioning that one.