Yeah that's a good question, because it is incredibly hard to wade through all the BS in the industry. The average consumer definitely pays more for "style" and "prestige", and the companies respond in kind with a lot of BS.
I've owned a pair of Ohm Walsh 1000 speakers since 2014, and used them basically every day, and couldn't be happier. Along with a Marantz receiver with an integrated amp.
If you have the space for floor standing speakers, I wholeheartedly recommend them. The sellers are very honest and will recommend the right size for your room. I did buy them without hearing them, so I get why people are reluctant to buy speakers. (They have a generous money back guarantee.) I've visited many audio stores in person, and it's not a great alternative. There are too many variables and I don't like to engage too much with salesmen.
I bought them mainly for music, but they reproduce voices better than anything I've heard, which is good not only for music, but for lectures and even video conferencing! A lot of speakers and headphones lack midrange, and that is where a lot of the information in human voices is. It's just more comfortable to listen to.
Also, you can turn them up really loud, and it doesn't hurt you ears. The speakers which have a lot of flashy treble and bass sound good in the store, but you get fatigued over 30 or 60 minutes, and you have to turn them down. These speakers can be turned up comfortably.
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If you want something smaller, there are also lots of good deals for bookshelf speakers -- you shouldn't need to spend more than $300 to $600. The amp is sometimes a problem but I've used some tiny $100 amps to good effect too.
But yes unfortunately there is a ton of BS to wade through. I got this recommendation from Don Lindich, a newspaper columnist for consumer audio. He also recommended me Mirage speakers way back in the day, which I loved as well. These are all omnipolar speakers -- they have an open sound that brings to life the information in stereo recordings. I listen to rock / metal / pop / hip-hop on them, and they're very good for jazz / classical (perhaps a more typical use, but they're not limited to that).
