Looking for a new car stereo

[Bob Schroeck]

Just what the subject says, and I'm soliciting recommendations.  Never having to shop for an after-market stereo before, I don't know what's good, what's not, and all that. 
I don't have a big budget for this --  maybe US$150 tops -- so I'm looking for a decent-quality CD player/radio that'll fit a Saturn dash without too much trouble.
Anyone have any suggestions?
Thanks!
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Duane Peters]

Try http://www.crutchfield.com/app/car/cars ... 2fcar.aspx for ideas on what will fit.

[Bob Schroeck]

Whoa. And here I thought my budget was going to me to low-end receivers.

Thanks, Duane!
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Rod.H]

Alpine's a good brand, used in certain high end cars too - I've seen them in Morgan's & Lotus (not to mention I got one in mine).

Bob, at $150 you've got a fair range to look at, it's the other bit's that start adding up, the interconnect from the unit's wiring harness to the car's, do you need a different panel in the console, installation costs. I minimised the last thanks to doing it myself but I used an ots harness adaptor and a aftermarket extra storage pocket to make the console look right. The last I needed due to going down in size from the stock radio.

[Bob Schroeck]

Well, that seems to be the great advantage of the Crutchfield page that Duane linked to -- it's make/model/year-sensitive, and displays only those units which will fit in the specified car. I've already spotted a few candidates at the $100 level that would serve my modest needs rather well.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Rod.H]

I found Crutchfield to be a good starting point, just some of their information was not 100% relevant for my car. Partially due to them using a sedan over the hatchback/wagon but mostly because the parts they have aren't available down here. Not to mention their wiring harness looks like it requires soldering or *shudder* twist connects.

Still, the local car audio places were helpful. Even if they wanted ~$100 and a percentage of a day to install the radio. In fact the only time I've got a 'pro' to install some audio equipment in my car was a sub-woofer and that was mainly because I couldn't work out how to run the power cable through the firewall.

[NifT]

In fact the only time I've got a 'pro' to install some audio equipment in my car was a sub-woofer and that was mainly because I couldn't work out how to run the power cable through the firewall.

Generally, I just look for an existing hole near my battery, and widen it just enough (if necessary) to run the cable through with whatever else is using that hole. I found the harder part to be figuring out which pieces of trim to hide the cable under when running it to the trunk.