Go to stereo shop and A/B all the different speakers until you find a pair that you like.

Yes... but with one important caveat: Don't expect the speakers to sound the same in your car as they do in the stereo shop.

Your car is a completely different environment, with maybe 10% of the "room" volume of the stereo shop, a different amplifier setup, totally different acoustics dictated by all the angled surfaces (windshield, headliner, etc.), speaker placement, reflective surfaces, and dozens of other variables.

You can make speaker choices with A/B comparisons in the shop -- determine that one speaker is brighter than another, or this subwoofer has tighter bass than that one. But just because a certain speaker sounds really warm and mellow in the 250--1000 Hz range in the shop doesn't mean it will sound that way in your car.

tanstaafl.