How can someone definitely, subjectively off the top of their head say "For HT, NOTHING beats Yamaha....."? In my estimation, for Home Theater, "nothing beats" an Onkyo receiver -- but thats my view and people wont agree while some others will.

Your pick should come down to three brands:

-Onkyo
-Denon
-Yamaha

Stay FAR AWAY from Kenwood, JVC, Sony....I would say Pioneer too, but there are some diehard fans in here of their Elite line; Im not one of them.

Of course, you could also look at higher priced models from the likes of Onkyo's own Integra or perhaps NAD or upper-tier brands like that which should perform just as well.