new system for beginner

Wirehead has some very good advice. Give us a little more info about your musical tastes and how you listen. Also, budget would be good to know as well. Try and break it all down in your head and figure out what you would be willing to pay for the whole ball of wax. This of course will dictate a lot. I have to agree with Wirehead that speakers and the amplifier/preamp/integrated is the most important and then perhaps the source followed by cabling. People have deep opinions about that, that is just my opinion based on my experiences. All parts are very important and add up to the whole.

This can get as expensive as you want (probably more so), but to make full use of the expertise of the people here you are talking about an absolute minimum of around $1K total for speakers, amplification and one source. You'll get a lot more help and input starting at around $1K per component.
Another thing to consider is that these systems are intended to have the right size and shape room arranged around them as much as possible. Preferably a rectangle with the shortest dimension no less than 12 feet, and the speakers idealy end up sitting way out into it.

For starters I would look at Cambridge Audio gear: www.spearitsound.com sells it at a discount. Their d500se is an excellent cd player for the money. Many choices in speakers, but the B&W 601's are nice for a start.

Masdm: Please provide the approx. size of your room, your real world budget (high and low) and whether you would prefer larger (tall, as many of the better ones are narrow) floor standing speakers or stand mounted monitors. A good system, IMO, is one that will sound good on all types of music, but if you want bass slam, just let us know as it's easy to add with the right selection. Ballpark, I would say that $1500-$2000 will buy you sound that will amaze most of your friends and which will give you many hours of listening pleasure.

Masdm; Room size is very important when trying to pick out a system. First thing is do NOT buy a piece buy reading reviews and other peoples opions.Everybody hears a little differently and you have to consider room size and the other brand of equipment that will be used. As said earlyer,the most important piece is the speakers. take your time, listen around. If you have a small room you might want to listen to some smaller speakers ( Revel Gem, Thiel MCS 1, Wilson Cubs,etc) and buy a good subwoofer ( Genesis,Revel,etc). It would be of a great help to know how much you are looking to spend. What kind of music you prefer. The main thing is to buy what YOU like, not what someone else is telling you. Your paying for it so your the one who needs to be most happy with it. Look around!! Good Luck to you and have fun!!!