need help with purchase

Sean has a good point. The Sony TA-E9000ES can be had for around $800.00 - $1000.00 price range used. I owned one for about 2 years. A great introduction to H/T totally upgradable(Current upgrade 2.01) with an unbelievable touch screen remote. A lot of bang for the buck.
Plan on spending another grand on a 5 channel amp(used of course). I used an adcom with excellent results.

Obviously, a lot of questions could be raised. The need for component video switching and a phono stage are biggies. Your choices (especially on the used market) open up considerably with the "right" answers. You may want to consider the Sherwood Newcastle 9080 (if you can live with two digital inputs) and the B&K Ref 20. Or wait for the new Outlaw 950, which promises to be a giant-killer.

Marantz SR7000(799.00) or SR8000(900.00) both are highly reguarded as great quality and major bang for the buck! Check out the great reviews the SR7000 has gotten over the past year.