Leaders of plasma tv's with best overall value and performance is panasonic. Read the consumer reports they have most of the reviews though. I think Sony products are given too much of a hype. We have been sony fans for like 10 years but lately, other competitors have caught up and even surpassed them

We got a 42" Panasonic HDTV Plasma for $2500 at Fry's electronics They usually sell for 2700-3000

At the same time, we got a 50" Samsung DLP TV for $1700
at Sams Slub. Hahaha. What I like about this is when the bulb goes bad you just have to replace it and the picture quality is almost as good as new.