I need new Speakers,

[Couch Potato Grouch]

Im fairly new to the home theatre scene so forgive me of any ignorance i possess,
But I have been bitten by the A/V bug and want to upgrade my speakers....

I recieverd a new Yamaha RX-v663 7.2 A/V reciever for X-Mas from the wife,
It came in a package with a set of Yamaha Tower speakers, Center, surrounds and sub,
Its a definite upgrade from what I had prior,(JVC 5.1 with Dolby Digital as its only home theatre digital audio decoder)
The Yamaha speakers are passable for home theatre applications but really fall apart on the 2 channel stereo music end.
Horrible mids and no bottom end,
The question is what speakers would match up nicely with my reciever,
My budget is around $1.500 andI want some well made Stereo speakers that sound really good musically,
Audiofile quality on a beer budget I guess......

I use the reciever for 70% H/T and 30% music,
I would either use the new speakers as fronts for my existing home theatre and move the Yamahas into the surround position for 7.2 surround or use the new speakers for 2 channel music in zone 2
My music taste is all over the spectrum, from Jazz greats like Louis Armstrong/Billie Holliday to Classic Rock like Dire Straits, Boston, To new age music like to Bjork and Sarah Mclaughlin all the way to Classical/Opera

The speakers I have been thinking about are
B & W 600 series,($1.300)
I auditioned them and wasnt really all that impressed,
Pardigm Studio 100v2 ($1.600)
I havent heard them but reputation and product history are impressive, Especially the studio 20s,
So the 100s have got to sound good right?
Energy RC 70, ($1.099,)

Any insight into any of theese speakers would be helpful or any other suggestions
Thanks alot for any ideas....
Grouch,