What type of sound system should I buy?

Bose or Sony Brands are best

Suggest you check Bose SoundDock Series II. It has the sound quality you're looking for. Hope it helps!

It sounds like you are trying to build a component system, which will give you much better sound quality than any ipod dock or boombox. With a budget that small I would search craigslist and buy used instead of new. You'll get a lot more for your money. You'll need a receiver. First see if you can get one from Marantz, Harman/Kardon, Denon, Yamaha, Pioneer, Kenwood or Onkyo. They're the best brands. If they are all out of your price range get something from a decent, well known name like Sony, Panasonic (Technics), or JVC. For the CD deck do the same as above. Sometimes you'll see people selling a complete setup. To hook up your ipod just get one of these: http://www.amazon.com/RiteAV-3-5mm-Stereo-Male-Cable/dp/B000V0G2C4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1288123981&sr=8-2 And then for the most important bit, the speakers. Look for Bowers & Wilkins, Paradigm, Klipsch, Infinity, Polk, JBL, Wharfedale, KEF, PSB, NHT, Mission, Tannoy, Diva, Energy, Mirage, Monitor, Jamo, Axiom, Athena, Dahlquist, Definitive Technology, or Boston Acoustics. A lot of the stuff made by those companies will be out of your price range, even used, but there will be a few you can afford. Cerwin-Vega speakers are known to be sort if "immature", for lack of a better word. Yes, they're loud and offer a lot of sound for the money, but these are better quality. I would add a sub onto the bookshelf speakers, either now or at a later date.It's the only way to get the low bass with bookshelves and I think you'll be happier. You might even be able to get one now depending on how much you spend on your other equipment. If you don't want a sub I would recommend something like this, a large bookshelf with a decent size woofer, that way you will be happy with the bass: http://www.amazon.com/JBL-S38II-8-Mirror-Bookshelf-Speakers/dp/B0000632GH I've seen a couple of those used from $100-200 used. You don't have to get those exact ones, its just to give you an idea of what to look for. If you want new speakers get these: http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-NS-6490-Bookshelf-Speakers-Finish/dp/B00018Q4GA/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1288193342&sr=8-6 They have a larger woofer than the Cerwin Vegas (8" Vs 6.5"), so they will have better bass. They also have a dedicated midrange driver and tweeter, so the overall sound will have more clarity. The CV's are also horn loaded, which produces a very bright sounding treble. I don't like horn speakers for home use. There are a few good ones like Klipsch, but the difference is they are much better engineered. Horn speakers do have their place. Pretty much all PA systems use horns because they can get loud enough to fill a stadium without distorting and they have better dispersion (and PA systems are what CV does, so it makes sense). But for a bedroom you will not be able to take advantage of either of those traits, so I recommend staying with a conventional design. Avoid any of those "mini systems" at all costs, like the Sony one suggested. They are absolute garbage. The speakers are cheap paper woofers and usually tweeters as well, but if you're lucky you'll get a plastic tweeter. Just because it says "hi-fi" in the product name doesn't mean it is anywhere close to that. You can't get a genuine hi fi system new for less than $500, and that is just entry level hi fi. I would also avoid the Bose SoundDock. Like everything else Bose, it is poorly engineered, overpriced, and heavily marketed. The Sound Dock has 2 2" paper speakers. Do you really think you can get the sound quality you want from that? You're better off getting $20 computer speakers and saving $180. All Bose does is boost the bass and treble to make their crappy little speakers tolerable (although I think they still sound dreadfully artificial), if you use equalization any cheap computer speakers will sound exactly the same for a whole lot cheaper.