I have read more, and realized my furniture doesn't provide the speaker separation I need. So I realized if I get bookshelf speakers I will need to get speaker stands, so why no just go with a tower.
So I went by best buy and listened to the Pioneer SP-FS52 towers with a good subwoofer ($400 klipsch on the floor), and they sounded very good to me. I have minimal experience listening to quality speakers, but I was very happy with the sound and was way better than anything I have ever owned (Bose years ago and currently a higher end Sony 5.1 speaker system). So with the comments of a couple of folks here who like the pioneers also, they seem like a great value. At the price of the speakers I can also get the BS22-LR surrounds and matched center. And buy a better sub as follows:
For the Sub-woofer, I'm leaning towards the Rythmik LV12R. While I don't understand all I read, the Premier Acoustic PA-150 is well liked and rated very good for a $300 sub, but drops off at lower frequencies. The PB1000 is rated well, but not as high as the Rythmik. So not knowing what is important, the posts I read suggest the Rythmik is better than the other two options, so it makes sense to buy the Rythmik which I should be happy with for a long time. And I can afford the Rythmik, so unless I am wasting money, I would rather go that way.
Am I missing anything. Does anybody who is familiar with the speakers think I will be dissatisfied with the Pioneer speakers or the Rythmik sub?
Thanks again, Your comments have been very helpful in focusing my reading.