First of all, I don't think you will need tower speakers when you get a good sub. Tower speakers biggest advantage over bookshelf speakers is deeper bass extension, but if you are using a subwoofer, you won't be taking advantage of the tower's deeper extension if you set everything up correctly. Let the subwoofer handle the bass.
Klipsch is a love it or hate it brand, I would really give them a listen to first before you make that purchase. They have great dynamic range, but their treble is sizzling hot. It is a bit much for some people. I like em, but I can see why some don't. I have noticed the passive Behringer Truth monitors are cheap at the moment, you might take a look at the Behringer
2030p and
2031p. They won't have as much slam as the Klipsch, but they will be a hell of a lot more neutral. I think they would be more than enough for your room size. They are excellent performers for that price. The 2031p is a harder load on amplifiers, but it has relatively deep and powerful bass for a bookshelf speaker, and you could use those without a sub easily if you aren't a bass head. The 2030p is much easier to drive, but is going to need a subwoofer. Another highly regarded speaker is the
Cambridge S30, I don't think it would be appropriate for a large room but will handle your room easily. Some other speakers in the same general price range with a good reputation are the A
scend Acoustics CBM-170,
Hsu Research HB-1 mk2,
Arx A1b Monitor, and
HTD Level Three Bookshelf speakers.
As for subs, if you listen to Tech N9ne, I take it you like hard hitting bass? If so, I wouldn't get anything less than a
Hsu VTF2, which at the moment is just shy of $600 shipped. It will have better sound quality than the Klipsch sub and much deeper bass too. That will give you a lot of bass right off the bat and put in good shape for the future if you ever wanted more. The Klipsch RW-12d is commonly recommended for those with large rooms and modest budgets because of its output, but I doubt it will have the articulation of the Hsu. You can also get the VTF2 in a
package with the Hsu HB-1 speakers for a small discount, those are good speakers.
For a receiver, check out the
Denon AVR-1713 (newegg has the best price), it has Audyssey room correction, which is a very nice feature, and give you a easy path to 7.1 if you ever wanted to upgrade. Whatever receiver you decide to get, remember to run the room correction setup, it can improve the overall sound greatly. I think a lot of people new to home theater neglect this feature. If you just don't have any intention of going to surround sound, check out the Harman Kardon 3490 stereo receiver, it is a simpler receiver but it has a powerful amplifier that can handle harder loads, you can get a refurbished one
here for $300 or a new one
here for $425. Anyway, that Denon or H/K receiver, the Hsu sub, and any combination of those speakers will get you to roughly $1300 shipped, and any of them would sound great. It's smart to go 2.1 with your budget, you will get a much better sound than diluting the overall quality for a surround sound system. It's also nice to see you have a broad taste in music, and I think any one of these setups will handle almost anything with aplomb.
