i DO NOT want a HTIB. help please! i have $1000 to spend.

Congrats for making the right decision!! I am not the most educated audiophile but I can at least start you off on the suggestions. I'm sure others will come along with other options. For what you want to spend there are two standout systems I am personally familiar with that I find very good.
1. If you need WAF you can go to newegg and find the Energy Take Classic system of 5 small sats for $150 often and then pick up the Klipsch RW-12d sub when goes on sale for $299 which it often does. This leaves you a nice range to pick up a receiver and maybe even a blu ray palyer.
2. The Pioneer AJ speakers are very popular in this price range. I bought mine from BB with a price match from Tiger direct for $400 for the floorstandings, bookshelf surround, and center. Then I'd again go for the Klipsch sub and have up to $300 left over for receiver.

That leaves $300-$550 for your receiver which I am not the best to suggest. I use a pioneer vsx1021k and am very happy with it, but there are many models out there in that range and I'm sure some are better. Good luck with your decision and have fun learning, listening, and deciding!

I think the Pionner Andew Jones speakers would be a solid pick as well. They can be found at Best Buy locally and online and the dealers mentioned above. Are you open to floorstanding speakers or are you trying to stick with bookshelves?

Not sure where you live, but if you are near a Fry's Electronics they regularly blow out the Infinity Primus line pretty cheap. If you are patient, you can get the P363 towers for $100 each and the P163 bookshelves for $107 a pair. I have never seen the C351 center on sale, but you can get that at many places for ~$200 or less. Fry's currently has the Polk RTi8 on sale for $159 each by the way.

Add in the Denon 1713 @ Accessories4less for $320 and you "should" be good. That doesn't leave much for a sub though especially if you have to pay for shipping on the speakers. You never mentioned any size restrictions or room size so I don't know if a sub is absolutely required or not for your needs. I would save up for a decent sub though.

I have the Infinity speakers and was able to compare them with the first generation AJ Pioneer speakers. I like the Infinity better. It digs a little deeper and is more articulate through the entire frequency range. They also look a lot nicer. I don't know about the current second generation speakers although I've heard they are an improvement over the first generation.

I agree...while I think the AJ Pioneers are a good speaker, especially considering how cheap you can get them some of the time...the Infinity Primus speaker line is a notch better! If the two speakers are even close to the same money, I would get the Infinities...but just my opinion!

As far as the Infinity or Pioneer, to each there own. Infinity is a nice option,
however I prefer the new phase 2 Pioneer speakers > Their new tweeter is
well built and really nice >> and the Pioneer brings a nice easy on the ears
experience, with an expansive open sound for movies and music.

Looks like Fry's Electronics has the Infinity Primus P163 on sale for $107 a pair again.

Wow that's cheap, to bad I'm on the wrong coast.

+1

http://www.aperionaudio.com/systems/aperion-systems

There are some speaker combos for 1000. Free shipping. Forgot about reciever though. Maybe you can stretch a little or get a used one on cl?

Here's a system for you:
Emp Tek Impression 5.1 setup for 700, and combine that with the best Yamaha/Denon/Pioneer/HarmanKardon/Marantz/Onkyo receiver you can afford. That will be a nice setup for $1k, and definitely a big step above a HtiB.

wow, that's quite a deal on the Emp Tek since they throw in the free dual 10" subwoofer!

Then check your local Best Buy for opex box or clearance items. you could make out like a bandit.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Clearance/Deals-Near-Me/pcmcat254400050000.c?id=pcmcat254400050000&DPSLogout=true&_requestid=137398&isLogout=true

Wow, amazing deal and they look very nice too.