It's really a tough call as each day the LCD's get cheaper, yet the CRT's are ridiculously cheap...Ah, the pleasures of deflation...But seriously its a very tough call as to which way is the best way to go...The one benefit of PC technology nowadays is that you are always guaranteed to find the same equipment today cheaper in 3, 6 months from now...
From what I have seen as far as the best specs for the LCD's, I have seen the Planar and Viewsonic 19" LCD's register Contrast Ratios of 500:1 and very high refresh rates, but I have not viewed them personally so I am not qualified to make a judgment...I also would make certain to check whether they are VESA compliant so that you can attach one of those nice Ergotron devices like Sarasota has listed...
As crazy as this sounds, I believe Sam's Club might well have the cheapest price on the NEC 1720, which last I checked were under $600($579)...All of the other popular online sites are still well over $100 higher on this product. However, I believe it is only analog and the contrast ratio was low; so it may not be a superior product...
For what its worth...