I would second a recommendation for the Sony 350 as an excellent stand-alone that is affordable. I've had mine for several months now, and have never had a single issue.
What inputs does your receiver have on your stereo system and what are your goals for sound (surround sound, etc.)? I'm not an audio expert, but there are quite a few around here that I think can tell you a lot about what you're looking for if they have the above information. For instance, I believe the Sony 550 can decode the new lossless audio codecs and send them through to a receiver that has analog (ie. red and white RCA) hookups, but the 350 will not do this. I run my audio through my older receiver using an optical hookup. Does your receiver have any of these inputs???
Congrats on the new TV and I hope you find the site as informative as I have. I just switched to blu-ray in November, and I've enjoyed it immensely. I hope the same for you!!!
