I've found the same thing with surround sound. A lot of people start out liking it, and later decide that 3 remotes and a bunch of wires and boxes laying around isnt worth the trouble. Hence I usually suggest that new buyers dont overspend. If you have a room to dedicate to it, its a lot more fungible. If you just want tv sound out to your stereo and no surround sound funny business thats easy. Check the back of your tv for "variable audio out" L/R connections. Plugged into any audio in on a receiver, these will let you hear the tv sound and control the volume with your regular tv remote.
The good news though is, as mentioned, even pedestrian stuff sounds pretty darn good these days. In the old days I remember wading through THD figures and all sorts of stats. I think almost anything from a company you've heard of will outperform not only your old rig but almost anything that was considered "pretty darn good" back when you bought your old receiver. I'd pass on the $99 plastic piece of junk with "Sony" scratched on it and sold at target, but other than that anything is probably ok. I'm also still skeptical about any speaker that fits in the palm of your hand, but if you like the way it sounds...
I've generally bought most of my speakers and other audio stuff from Cambridge Soundworks. You may live in an area where they have a store and you can peruse. Go to
www.cambridgesoundworks.com and look up 'retail stores'. They have an internet outlet:
www.hifi.com which has packages of speakers, also bundled with receivers and dvd players if you need them. Check out the clearance/open box areas online and instore for some pretty good deals.
Their products arent always top of the line OR cheapest, but I dont think you can go wrong with their stuff. Their PC speaker systems are excellent for the price.
The only other advice I can give is to NOT go cheap on your two main front speakers, as with current materials they'll last you 20+ years and this is where all of your music and most of your tv sound will come from. DO go cheaper on your center channel, surrounds and subwoofers if you get them. Ok, you audiophiles can quit throwing bricks at me now. Mostly dialog comes out of the center channel, mostly side and rear noise from the surround speakers, and all a subwoofer does is go "boom" and rattle your innards.
Other good places to look are your nearest costco or sams club...they sell a lot of packages that are decent sounding and reasonably priced.
You can also go here
http://www.fatwallet.com/c/18/ and search for "receiver" and "speaker" for a wide variety of sometimes very good deals, along with color commentary on the product offerings. A quick check there turned up this one:
http://shop3.outpost.com/product/4071182?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG
which was considered pretty good by most people who bought it. Probably a step up from your old setup for $77 plus shipping.