I'm in the market for a new 27" or 32" flatscreen TV.  I'm looking for
the following characteristics:

*Price under $500
*Good quality
*HDTV-compatible (not sure if this is possible and it's not a must but
it would be nice to have done the road)
*Black color (not essential but would match everything else I
currently have)

I'm living in LA so I could pick up a model at Circuit City, Best Buy,
Costco, etc. or I wouldn't mind getting one through the mail as long
as shipping wasn't too expensive.

I'm looking for the best value and don't mind paying a little more if
I can get a really good deal.  Also, if anyone knows of any current
coupon offers or other promotions, please include that information as
well.

Willing to buy used? --
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/cgi-bin/search?areaID=7&subAreaID=0&type_search=1&query=tv&group=S

I highly recommend using epinions to select a model of TV that meets your needs:

http://www.epinions.com/Standard_Televisions-Direct_View_Flat_Screen

I very much doubt that you can find an HDTV-compatible TV for under $500.

Thanks for the craig's list idea?  I didn't see any on there that fit
the bill but I can keep looking there.  EBay might also have some.  A
used TV isn't all that big of a deal to me as long as I can get a good
price.

The epinions site is also good.  I'll take a look there as well.

The only possibility that I've seen for HDTV-compatible is this one:
http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.jsp?c=1&b=g&catoid=-11482&qp=0360436113791&bookmark=bookmark_6&oid=75557

It doesn't advertise the HDTV feature but according to this thread it
is possible:

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=40&threadid=1114963

However, the TV does seem to have some problems associated with it so
I'm wondering if there is a close substitute available.