Soundbars: flat, compact and easier to setup than even a home theater in a box setup. We're seeing a lot more of these speaker solutions in homes (and especially apartments). Some have even have integrated DVD players! Add on a subwoofer and you've got a decent sound system without the hassle of running wires and cables around the house...
Premium: CineMate 1SR by Bose
At $1499, this soundbar and subwoofer tandem is probably going to be more expensive than a brand new 46" LED panel. Admittedly, the Bose model is pretty sleek and connects directly to the HDTV without a receiver. Bose claims they've engineered this model so it can determine whether it' laying flat on a table, or mounted on a wall, for optimal audio performance (Bose is one of those brands that either instill total brand loyalty or total eye rolling, so take this claim as you may). The subwoofer is connected wireless, and produces a quasi-surround sound using audio reflection.
Mid-tier: Samsung 2.1 Sound Bar
Samsung's $349 soundbar solution is wall mountable, rated for 260 watts, and includes a wireless subwoofer to fill in on low end duty with the virtual surround sound. The subwoofer operates on a 5.8 GHz wireless channel that supposedly won't interfere with other wireless technology. But we've read of some users experiencing their wi-fi connections being interrupted and other connectivity issues related to cross-interference.
Cheapthrill: Vizio VSB200
For less than a Benjamin, you can get this budget universal soundbar from discount tech brand, Vizio. The VSB200 is equipped with a 32-Bit 150 MHz DSP audio engine which provides virtual surround sound and 3 dimensional experience. Four 3" mid/bass transducers and two 3/4" tweeters for what we consider acceptable performance, especially considering the price.
Other sound options are:
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The Eight-Step Home Cure 
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i had a different samsung sound bar and unless they fixed the wireless problem it knocked my wifi out. makes it kind of hard to go on netflix.
that and the other main reason why i returned it. they often seem to lack customization. it had a few different modes you could click it into, but i didn't like any of them and the bass seemed kind of muddy. with no way to fix it, it went back.
I hoped that more of the sound bar systems would include a DVD or bluray player.
the pic for the Vizio is wrong, the 100 dollar unit does not have rear speakers. I am pleased with my VSB200.
correction, the VSB200, no sub or rear speakers. The one I have is sound bar and sub, about $250.
So what advantage do these things offer over, say, a 2.1 setup or just 2 3-way tower speakers?
@deucer
why would you want to include something on them that would add size, weight, and cost that may become outdated much faster then the actual object?
In our bedroom i have a LCD tv i bought a few years ago. It has a built in dvd player. I rarely ever use it. Either because i am watching a blu ray, which weren't as popular at that time, or streaming something. So instead this tv is thicker and has more parts to break when it didn't need to.
Add in the fact that most of the time when they include something like that it is an after thought and doesn't really perform the way a stand along could work. Like the one i mentioned before, the dvd player also doesn't work worth jack and has problems reading discs all the time, another good reason i never use it and regret the purchase
Or to add on that point they don't contain the features a stand along would. My bluray has wifi, hooks up to netflix, pandora, etc. i don't think a version in a sound bar would be doing that.
Have the VSB200 soundbar and paired it with a Sony Subwoofer with 300watts which I bought on a Black Friday for $100. Sounds great to me.