I had similar concerns. I have vaulted ceilings and in order to run wires in the wall, I would have to cut holes and patch. On top of that, my TV entertainment center is against an exterior wall. It just made keeping the wires concealed and setting up a 5.1 system difficult. I looked at various systems that used 2 speakers from Bose, Sony, and Denon. In the end, I decided to use my old receiver and spend all my money on 2 front speakers and 1 subwoofer. I am very happy.
I spent a total of $900 for the 2.1 speaker setup. The advise provided on this forum is to pretty much spend your money on the front speakers and after completing my setup, I have to agree. The setup sounds great for movies, music, and programs I watch on my satellite receiver. The sound fills the room. The setup of the 2.1 speakers was very easy. I used floorstanding speakers for the sound quality, but also, the setup is easier. There were no wires to hide. If you use Book-shelf speakers you will have to either buy speaker stands or mount them to the wall. Either way, you have to hide the wires.
I never listened to the Bose system outside of the store. From the reviews I read, the sound was good for small spaces, but not really good for a true home theater. In theory, if all you want is decent sound for movies and sports, you could just get 2 floor standing speakers. There is no easier setup than that.
There are lots of places to buy speakers. I found a good selection at Onecall.com and Overstock.com. I actually bought my speakers from Tweeter. There was a store near me that is going out of business.
