John,
So called modern monitors (not incl the cheapies) differ in price, edge to edge brightness, price, physical size on the desktop,
price, linearity from edge to edge, price, warranty, price, available service contracts, price. You begin to get the drift ?
Get the biggest screen you can affort with a flat face. (anything over 19" costs a bundle).
If desktop realestate is an issue then one of the 19" plasma flats will work well. I am currently using a flat screen 19" Dell without any problems for 7 or 8 years. Has a big weighty footprint but bright, sharp and obvously super reliable. Buy from the vendor website when on sale, might even include free shipping.
deralte