I'd reccommend you read through some of the computer forums and review sites. You'll find that there are some models that stand out from others quite noticably and you can't always rely on specs to find the LCD that actually performs the best.
www.hardforum.com would be a good place to start, once you have a few models you like in mind you can check out the [H]otdeals forum to find a good price on it.
I have a Dell 1800FP which is a rebadged 18" LG panel. Many of the companies just buy panels from other manufacturers and put them in their own housing. Read those reviews and forums and eventually you'll start to hear certain names over and over, those would be the panels you want to look at.
As for specs, which aren't the be all end all like I said (I've seen some panels with much better specs than mine that look much worse), you want to look at resolution, refresh/response time, color depth, and check out the level of black reproduction (you don't want blacks looking grey). Make sure the natural resolution is something you can live with as the panel will always look best at this resolution. Lower refresh/response times are better, especially if you're doing anything involving quick motion like gaming or videos. Anything with 25ms or under should be fine, 16ms being pretty damn good to most eyes (mine is 25ms but is pretty well known for not blending/streaking under quick motion).
If you need anything else feel free to ask, I'd be happy to help. Don't be pulled in by one brand, there are good LCD's out there by companies you haven't heard of (and they might make the panel for the company you have heard of, who just charges you more for it) who make darn fine LCDs. I still haven't seen a company who makes an entire model line that's good, with these it really comes down to individual models. Do your homework.
-Jade
Found a Compaq 17" model . Anyone have any idea how good these are. Or maybe another brand ?? 
