Sony is a safe choice but not necessarily the best. You need to consider several factors: your budget, how much space you have on your desk, how much use will it see and what you will use it for.
My advice will be to spend as much as you can afford, get the biggest screen that will fit (min 17"), flat panel if you can afford it. If you sit at the screen a lot then smaller dot size resolution (look for dot size spec) and good screen geometrics will be less tiring on the eyes, especially for text applications/web browsing. Not so important for gaming but remember cheaper flat screens tend to blur moving images so gaming and flat screen = expensive. Best thing would be to look for some reviews in PC mags or their on line versions. Buy online for big savings.