It'll need to support your TV (unless you have a projection screen) and it should have room for new gear in the future. The key is finding the right one for your system while staying away from racks that actually degrade the performance of your home theater.

TV Stands
Besides wall units, TV stands are what people with direct view sets will be hunting for. Most TV stands are small and allow for only 2-3 components to go underneath the TV. Many of these stands suffer from a major lack of ventilation for the components underneath.

The biggest criteria for an A/V rack is that it has to be wide, 3-4 feet wide to be exact. This will usually be larger than any direct view set. The purpose of the width is so that it can fit 4-5 components underneath the TV with proper ventilation. This should allow most people enough room for all their gear while not requiring the purchase of a separate rack.

The most terrible stands are the little particle board TV stands that are available to match the TV. These things are the worst things to try and connect components in, and you'll probably only be able to get 2 components in them if your lucky. They provide little or no ventilation which can be very harmful to your system, and are usually not sturdy enough.

Racks
Racks are the most simple pieces of home theater furniture to buy and usually the most versatile. Either a rack has enough shelves for all your gear or not. You can get a rack to sit alongside your projection TV or combine it with a TV stand/rack for the ultimate in expandability.

Since the rack will be loaded with heavy and expensive gear, you'll want to make sure the rack is stable enough to prevent tipping. Look for a rack that leaves enough breathing room for your amp and some type of method to hide the wires.

Nothing makes your stand look more terrible than seeing all those snaking wires in the back. Stray away from wire hiding systems that have you hide the wire in tiny side beams of the stand, if you think you'll be able to cram all your cable in those tiny little areas think again. A better solution is a 6-8 inch piece of wood centered on the back of the stand. This allows for wires to freely flow behind the rack while hiding them at the same time. If the rack's shelves are adjustable you can move the shelves around to better hide the wires as well.

Build Quality
It goes without saying that you're A/V Furniture should be solid and sturdy. It should be able to handle all you're gear, leave options to expand later on, and make it somewhat easy to access the back of your system for easy wiring. The shelves should be held firmly in place to prevent the rack from vibrating from the sound waves in your home theater. The last thing you want to hear during your movies is the rack making noise.

Wood A/V Furniture
Salamander Designs creates very solid, well built racks and TV stands. Salamander uses thick threaded bars for the support beams with heavy duty nuts to secure the shelves. Every shelf is completely adjustable up or down making these the most versatile pieces of A/V furniture.

Salamander only produces rack and TV stands, but the two can be combined in numerous ways such that a type of wall unit can be made. The Salamander furniture has a very solid feel to it a provides easy access to all wiring.

Salamander is among one of the best brands for wood A/V racks and TV stands. They come in at a cheaper cost than glass and metal stands and offer unparalleled versatility.

Glass and Metal Furniture
These pieces of furniture offer the most elegant look for your home theater. The stands use metal for the main structure with glass shelving to place your gear or TV on.

Glass-shelved furniture does have limitations. One is that the shelves tend to be permanent. So you better be sure your system will fit how you want it. Another is that glass-shelved TV stands tend to have little room for components underneath. You can get a taller TV stand, but those usually bring the TV's center too high.

You will be more likely to need a separate rack alongside your TV stand. This makes the cost of glass/metal rack a lot higher than their wood counterparts. Some newer creations combine glass shelves with a wood frame that create a very stunning look. While the shelves are still permanent the wood is definitely a lot nicer to look at than the metal.

Without a doubt one of the best manufacturers of glass/metal A/V furniture is Bell O'ggetti. They were among the first companies to furnish these remarkably beautiful pieces of furniture, and will continue to be highest on the list of suggested brands for glass and metal furniture.

Pricing

Wood racks and TV stands:
Salamander Designs (www.salamanderdesigns.com)
T/V stand average price: $400
Component rack average price: $300

Glass & Metal Racks and TV stands:
Bell O'ggettii (www.bellointl.com)
T/V stand average price: $600
Component rack average price: $700