I bought a wide-screen TFT last year, here's some of the stuff I found out-
Check into the dead pixel policy for any brand you're considering. A some will replace if there are any dead pixels, some only if you have a dead pixel in the centre of the screen, some not until you have multiple pixels.
Check what connectivity the monitor has, some budget monitors only come with an analogue connection. DVI makes quite a difference for picture sharpness, especially text.
Some monitors scale certain resolutions better than others, in other words if you choose a 4:3 resolution on some wide screen monitors, they will stretch the image to fill the screen and it will look un-natural. Video card drivers are supposed to have scaling options to counter this and centre the image with black borders so it keeps the correct aspect ratio but this used to be quite hit and miss, I don't know if it has improved recently.
Screen bleed (Lighter shades of black at the edges of the screen)can be quite bad and noticeable on TFT's especially if you are watching a dvd in a dimly lit environment. It can be a lottery to whether your screen bleeds or not. In case it does, try to buy from a source where you can replace the screen easily if you need to.
I had 2 samsung Pebble SM2232BW 22" monitors that both had bad screen bleed at the edges that totally ruined watching a dark film and both also had dead pixels. They also wouldn't scale the a 4:3 resolution to the centre of the screen, and I got noticeable tearing when watching interlaced video.
I got them from pc world, they have 2 weeks return policy, so was able to change the screens easily.
I've ended up with a HP W2207, it has slight bleed, but is very minor, I get no tearing in video either, no dead pixels and the monitor scales any resolution properly. The down side is that it has very shiny screen that catches reflections.
Do plenty of research and check as many reviews as possible out, especially buyers reviews, companies tend to vet any stock that they know is going to be reviewed by a website or magazine.
Good luck
~Inadaze