I have a 42" Sharp Aquos LC-42D72U 1080p HD LCD TV. I use it mostly for watching DVDs (and in the future HD-DVD or Blu-Ray movies) and playing my X-Box 360 but I do want to try how my computer looks on it.
The basic question you want to ask yourself is: what are you going to use it for? How far will you be sitting from it?
There are various opinions on whether one should go plasma or lcd and some of it boils down to visuals and usage, and of course the pros and cons for both technologies.
I personally decided on LCD due to the better viewing angle.
As for 1080p, the general consensus is that it's not worth it 37" and under. 1080p is particularly recommended if you plan to get HD DVD or Blu-Ray and on a screen 40" and above.
Consider the following links which helped me decide on what to get, lcd-wise. And do not get caught up with issues/problems that certain brands have since there are no such things as a perfect set. As long as you personally are happy with it, that's all that counts. I've read through too many threads where people have themselves hung up on banding and clouding issues on certain lcd models and whatnot to the point where they cannot decide what model to get; or they have numeorus times returned the set in exchange for another.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=166
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=167
