If I were you I would browse the classifieds. You can find some awesome deals... if you are content with getting used products then you can save some bucks and get some high quality stuff. If not... you can still find some great deals on new equipment.
Now I'm not sure what kind of brands you are looking for. There are the popular brands like Alpine, Kenwood, Kicker, etc which you can't really go wrong with. Then there are the lesser known companies that primarily have their products featured online. I'll throw some of them out there... Digital Designs, Ascendant Audio, Audioque, Sundown, CDT... search the forums for 10 mins and you'll find many more.