When I decided it was time to set aside my 10 year old CRT and find a good quality LCD, the first thing I did was research what kind of specs were important to look for. I quickly learned that LCD panel manufacturers like to convince prospective buyers that certain specs are of utmost importance when choosing a monitor (i.e. contrast-ratio, response time). While other important factors are somewhat ignored. After further research, I found that a simple way to narrow down my choice of LCD monitors was to consider the type of panel.
Your choice of a panel really depends on what you are going to use it for. If you are a graphic designer, then you may want to look for the panel type that offers the best color reproduction. But if gaming is all that matters, response time carries some weight.
If you only learn one thing from this site, let it be this: Pixel response-time is NOT the ultimate measure of a monitor. In most cases, faster pixel response time is accompanied by lower-quality color, lower contrast ratio, narrower viewing angles. Don't pay attention to the gullible fool who's bought into the marketing schemes and tells you that 4ms vs 8ms is worth an extra $100.