The best TVs aren't cheap, so cheap TVs aren't any good, right?

Not a chance. High-def viewing pleasure is no longer the preserve of the well-heeled, and as picture quality goes up, so prices are edging downwards.

You can get an awful lot for a grand these days. Naturally, LCD is well represented in our 10 favourites, but there's also a rear-projection monster in there and even a gorgeous plasma to add some variety. Note that most of your typical high-street vendors won't offer you these kind of prices - the best deals are to be found online.

10 Sony KDL-40V2000 - £999

40-inch LCD. 1x HDMI. 1366x768. It's mainly age that's brought this V-series Bravia just under a grand. Its strengths, though, remain just as valid today as they did when we reviewed it 12 months ago. The Bravia styling remains attractive, while picture quality is pleasantly detailed and natural, particularly from high-definition sources. The best part: Superb high-def picture quality.

9 JVC LT-32DX7 - £920

32-inch LCD. 2x HDMI. 1366x768. If you're looking for a strong all-rounder, the LT-32DX7 may just be the ticket. It's towards the top of our price range, but JVC has produced an LCD without any clear weaknesses. Picture quality, particularly from standard-definition material, is strong. The design is smart and elegant, and the sound quality is a real surprise. The best part: Fantastic sound from its concealed speakers.

8 Panasonic TX-32LXD70 - £630

32-inch LCD. 2x HDMI. 1366x768. The TX-32LXD70 is an overachiever in so many areas that its affordable price tag is quite remarkable. Its styling is typical of modern high-def TVs, while a 100Hz scanning rate does wonders for LCD's traditional problems in handling motion. The viewing angle is also impressive; our only reservation is the only average black levels, but that's hardly new for LCD. The best part: Excellent handling of moving objects.

7 Samsung LE-26R74BDX - £440

26-inch LCD. 1x HDMI. 1366x768. At this price, you have to compromise somewhere, and with this Samsung, it appears to be on connections. Just a single HDMI and two Scarts are present, but on the plus side, a Freeview tuner is included. And while this LCD is cheap, there's nothing cheap about its looks, or its high-def picture performance. Sound and standard-def pictures are only average, and it's not the newest kid on the block. But its strengths far outweigh its weaknesses. The best part: Great high-def picture performance for under £500.

6 Toshiba 42WLT66 - £800

42-inch LCD. 2x HDMI. 1920x1080. Time has been kind to the 42WLT66. We gave it a cautious thumbs up when we reviewed it last year, but that was at £2,000. Now it's much cheaper, and its 1080p status really does make a strong argument. As you would expect, high-definition picture quality is superb. Audio is strong too, but there are occasional problems with colour balance and standard-def pictures. These are minor niggles, but certainly cost the Toshiba a couple of places in these standings. The best part: Outstanding value for money.

5 Sony KDS-55A2000 - £999

55-inch SXRD rear-projection. 2x HDMI. 1920x1080. The normal rules of value for money are generally suspended for rear-projection TVs, simply because of their size. Put it this way, if space is not a problem, this is an absolute bargain. Despite its mammoth screen size, Full HD resolution ensures crisp and detailed pictures. Quality of standard-def material falls away a little, but not by much. Another point worth noting is the speedy response time of just 2.5ms - perfect for a games console. The best part: the biggest Full HD picture here by a long way.

4 Panasonic TX-26LXD60 - £570

26-inch LCD. 2x HDMI. 1366x768. Panasonic is well known for its superb plasmas, but it's not too bad at LCD either, if the TX-26LXD60 is anything to go by. Not too much more than £500 buys you this 26-inch stunner, and in return you'll get incredibly rich, sharp and detailed HD pictures. This is backed up by decent connections. And while the design and sound performance are good rather than great, it's all about the picture. The best part: Stunning high-def picture quality.

3 Philips 32PF9641D - £630

32-inch LCD. 2x HDMI. 1366x768. The 32PF9641D is everything a modern LCD should represent. It looks great, is well connected, produces great pictures and sound, and is priced aggressively. It may not come with the latest version of the Philips' Pixel Plus processing, but version two still does a great job on high-def pictures. And the Ambilight pyrotechnics are always welcome. Standard-definition pictures aren't great, but just about everything else is. The best part: It has many strengths, but sheer value for money is probably the greatest one.

2 Pioneer PDP-427XD - £950

42-inch plasma. 2x HDMI. 1024x768. As the only plasma in this round-up, the first question is inevitably 'why is it so cheap'? And we haven't got an answer for you. The PDP-427XD looks great, and produces fantastic pictures. We're big fans of the seventh generation plasmas in bigger screen sizes. But this 42-inch beauty gives nothing away to its bigger brethren except price. The best part: Plasma's inherent black level advantage over LCD at an incredible price.

1 Sharp LC42XD1E - £880

42-inch LCD. 2x HDMI. 1920x1080. If you want to know why this is our number one, those specs you just read are a good start. But not only is this a Full HD 42-inch TV for under a grand, it's not like corners have been cut elsewhere. The XD1E range is well built and stylish, while connections are decent - although there's no component video input. Sharp's truD processing system does fantastic work on high-def images, boosting contrast ratio to an impressive 6000:1. Sound performance is a match, and even standard-def images haven't been forgotten. The best part: Full, glorious high definition.

Full reviews courtesy of Home Cinema Choice, What Video, What Home Cinema and What Plasma magazines.

Previous Top 10s: Digital SLRs ; High-def projectors ; The best of Blu-ray ; LCD TVs ; Smartphones ; Budget laptops ; High-definition TVs