When buying a monitor there are several key factors to consider.  The dot pitch or crispness of the image is crucial to picture quality.  The lower the dot pitch, the better.  Also consider the max resolution and refresh rate, for those higher is better. 

LCD's are becoming popular because of their space saving and portability.  If you are in the market for an LCD monitor; look for the contrast ratio (higher is better), resolution, dead pixel policy and the refresh rate (lower is better).  If your video card offers DVI, get an LCD with DVI, the colors are much brighter!