I personally wouldn't pick either of those brands for either purpose, but that's just me. I'll add my agreement to the statement that a good speaker is a good speaker, period. If a speaker is only good for HT and won't do music, avoid that one. Ditto for speakers good only for one genre (unless your musical tastes are extremely limited).
I'd say look for something your amp can easily drive (ie decent sensitivity and no goofy impedance curves). Look for good bandwidth, frequency response & power handling (ie full range response ranging from reasonable low bass up thru the treble, even response with no large irregularities, & the ability to absorb as much power as you're likely to need). Start with resonably sized speakers; with very few exceptions, the really tiny micro sub/sat systems tend to have very limited dynamics and a pronounced "hole" between the upper bass and midrange. Such systems will often sound "thin."
As a general rule, bass can be achieved thru either displacement or high power (or both, of course). A smallish speaker can give decent bass but usually only with a lot of power (think the Sunfire cube subs). A large sub can generate a lot of bass with less power. But don't buy a "pet coffin"- a large, undamped & flimsy box will give you boomy sound and make you miserable. Quality over quantity at all times!
When shopping, consider how many speakers you need. If you want a 5.1 (6.1 or 7.1) rig, be prepared to spread that money over all the speakers you need. None are 'unimportant'. This is doubly true of the front three- they need to be the best you can afford & they need to be voice matched. Ideally the rears should be matched, too, but this isn't as critical as the voicing of the front three.
I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, Ventwood, and work from the premise that you're sincere & on-the-level. There aren't any shortcuts to doing the homework and learning about this stuff as you go. Well, in a way there is a shortcut, and you found it- it's places like this. Do yourself a favor and immerse yourself in the material. Most of your questions have been asked & answered many times in these pages. There's a daunting amount to learn, but as you read you will learn. Eventually this will all make sense.
Don't be afraid to ask questions, but if you're only looking for the
appearance of knowledge, this isn't going to be a profitable exchange for anyone. Read reviews of the speakers you're interested in, both consumer (eg Audioreview) and pro reviews (eg TAS, Stereophile). Then listen for yourself. Mass market electronics like Klipsch & Def Tech are easy to find in most cities, as are brands like Sony & Yamaha.
