I have been going through the same here. Where are you located in USA? Bestbuy is the worst place to buy any stuff, unless it is discounted 50% or more.
What is your budget? What kind of setup are you interested in?
My recommendations:
BIG no to HTIB(just want to make sure you don't this on your list)
Electronics, electronics, electronics (buy as many electronics your money can buy, electronics are very expensive in India but you have to deal with voltage conversion, still worth the effort). Recommendations really depend on your interest, is it going to be a HT setup or Stereo audio or what kind of features are you looking at?
But I believe, an AVR does need to be on your list, as you will be having atleast a couple of video devices, like STB and at the least DVD player.
Speakers : don't look at common brands like POLK, Def Tech, Monitor audio, etc, most of the brands are available at very competitive prices in India, if you factor in shipping, effort and risk, they are not worth it. Then what, go for specialty brands like SALK, Swan, GoldenEar , Zu Audio, Ascend, vandersteen, Philarmonic, EMPTek, etc.
Budget( just for the speakers):
< $2000 : brands to look at, Ascend, Swan, Emptek
> $2000: Salk, Philharmonic, Vandersteen, zu, GoldenEar
I would recommend atleast go for Ascend, Ascend SQ is the best compared to other common brands like polk, monitor audio, def tech, etc and price is very comparable. I liked the Monitor Audio bronze series but you can find those in India very competitive rates.
my 2 cents but I am not a audiophile though, I just barely started couple of months ago, so bear that in mind before taking my recommendations.