i know virtually nothing about stereo equipment. what i do know is that i want my stereo to sound nice for not a toooon of money. can someone at least post a list of all things i need to purchase, and if possible, brands that are good and brands to avoid. thanks.

 

the first thing is if you dont have the mock stereo get an after market head unit JVC or Pioneer work great. you then can tune you sound better

 

I agree with Acewelder99 on the head units, try to avoid those ebay bargins like legacy, pyramid, pyle, ect. If your still not happy with the sound you can do one of two things. If it's just bass your missing an amp and a box will help, if you want louder and clearer sound, upgrade the speakers and power them with a small 4 ch amp. About 150 watts min for all four speakers. Avoid the same brands I mentioned earlier. You could also try Kenwood, Alpine or Eclipse.

 

If you're looking to just make the speakers you have sound better, you could go to ikesound.com and get some Line Out Converters, a couple pairs of Infinity Kappa 5x7s, an Alpine 4-channel amp for around $550

If you're just looking to get some additional Bass, you can pick up an Infinity Basslink 10" amplified sub & some crossovers so you can tap the rear speaker leads and still use the rear speakers, while adding the bass you want...that mod should run less than $400