I'm surprised there is not a real consensus on which TV is the "best." I got my Samsung 750 series (I think..) years ago, and back then it was widely considered to be among the "best." I too ordered from Amazon. Saved over 500-700 dollars compared to Best Buy, and it was free shipping and the guy brought it in, unboxed it, and helped me put it on my console. Also, Amazon didn't try to pressure or guilt me into buying a $200 surge protector or $100 hdmi cables
The consensus on the high end video forums is that, of the 2011 models, these were the top 3:
Panasonic VT30 plasma
Sony HX929 local dimming LCD/LED
Sharp Elite local dimming LCD/LED
The Sharp is by far the most expensive and would have likely been the consensus for the best if it were not for a cyan color decoding error that was virtually invisible, but became an internet furor considering the price of the sets.
The VT30 and 929 are a bit more of a toss-up based on the compromises you are willing to accept.
The 2012 Panasonic plasmas (VT50) promise better PQ than the 2011 models, so things might change. Sony is not updating the 929 apparently, and Sharp has yet to disclose what their plans are for the Elite models in 2012 (if any). LG has announced a local dimming set for the US this year which might also be in the top tier.
The Samsung LCD's are permanently crippled due to the lawsuit with Sharp over local dimming. Samsung is prohibited from selling a local dimming set as a term of that settlement, and that technology is the only way currently for LCD sets to be competative (or even superior) to plasma in black level and uniformity. All of the edge lit and even fixed full array backlit LCD's have varying degrees of flashlighting, clouding and/or less than ideal black levels.
The Samsung plasmas suffered from some issues recently, and the plasma "crowd" has settled on the Panasonic's as the heir apparent to the Pioneer Kuro's (no longer manufactured).
So there is no universal "best". If you ignore the cyan decoding issue and the price, the Sharp Elite's (60 & 70") are probably it except for the obvious viewing angle limitation (they are not an IPS panel). If you believe the talk, the Panasonic VT50's might be the new title holder - I personally did not care for the VT30 over the 929 or Elite. If the 2012 model can drive the black level down and the brightness and contrast up, it could be the set to beat this year.
The lesser models are available, but not the VT series yet, I believe.
It is almost impossible to determine much of anything based on previous model years within manufacturers - they change things so much sometimes, that any sort of brand history is dubious, aside form Panasonic probably having the best plasmas (they purchased the Kuro patents/IP from Pioneer when Pioneer exited the TV business). Sharp owns part of Pioneer now, so they got the Elite brand to stick on their cost-is-no-object LCD set.
The TV industry is losing money, and every set (regardless of cost or brand) has a recent history of potential QC issues and technology tradeoffs. Even the new Elites have had a history of some sets dying and refusing to power on.
Most manufacturers are trying to figure how to survive by lowering cost and increasing size, not improving the state of the art. HDTV's are becoming a commodity item manufactured in China. There was talk of this year's Sony HX929 being the last XBR TV due to the collapse of the high-end market.
The death of the Pioneer Kuro plasma line a few years ago was the beginning of the end, unfortunately, for high-end, "enthusiast" TV's. While TV's are in general getting better on average, it is far less of a sure thing that next year will bring a clear advancement in the state-of-the-art for consumer TV's.
Due to the shape of the market, I'm not holding my breath for OLED (lifespan of the blue layer aside) or 4K displays in anything but very limited, expensive models for some time. Hell, the industry can't even kill off DVD in spite of $75 blu-ray players and $7.99 blu-ray movies.
