Trying to decide on a/v receiver - I am going nucking futs!

[sjdistributors]

I'd add Onkyo and Rotel to the list and bump the others back a bit, are you married to Denon or HK for a reason?

Not stuck on Denon or HK if for no other reason than they seem to be mainline a/v receivers with good reputations.

I know we are dealing with sound here but looks matter too (hmmm, that just doesn't seem right, does it!). I took a quick look at Rotel...not sure if I could handle looking at it or not. To be honest, I haven't researched Onkyo much. What model (current or 1-2 years old) would be in the run with the above receiver?