You didn't say much about your home theater needs. Do you have HDMI devices? Do you have front speakers that can support bi-amping? Do you want automatic room "correction" (i.e., equalization, delay settings, etc.)? Do you want iPod integration? Do you want digital transport of SACD or DVD-Audio? Do you want HD (terrestrial digital) radio? XM radio?

The sheer diversity of features available is staggering, particularly as you look at more expensive gear. It all boils down to your priorities. Even for digital input of computer-sourced audio, I've seen receivers that pretend to be USB audio devices, receivers with Ethernet jacks, and receivers that specifically speak to iPods. Which you might want depends in large part on the larger context of what you're doing. The USB audio device, for example, would be fantastically valuable if you were trying to do a home theater PC.