Wow, where to start. Looking at moniters in a store or at your friends house or work or whatever-- in person, is your best bet. Monitor makers use different measuring techniques and have different standards making a comparison based upon just specs alone dangerous. Unfortunately, most retail stores aren't displaying what you usual do; they usually have a static image showing and that's a whole bag of useless to a gamer. For instance:
A while back I bought a NEC 20wmgx2 completely blind form newegg for no other reason then I liked my NEC crt and a few reviews I read said it was fast. It came, it was glorious, there was much rejoicing, and I moved on with my life. Then, a little while later, I set up another box to use as a graphics machine (one computer for gamers, an older computer for 3dMax). I saw no reason to spend another $600 on a monitor (the technology is always improving, right?), so I went to compusa a bought a 20" Samsung. It had all the right specs: it was brighter then the NEC, had higher contrast then the NEC, and was faster then the NEC (2ms instead of 4ms). This should be the perfect thing for me! Looked good in the store...... got it home, set it up next to the NEC and-- BLAM! I put a bullit in my head....figuratively. You see, it all came down to the fact that the NEC is an ISP panel and the Samsung was a TN panel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TFT_LCD), the lcd technology was completely different and the side by side comparison was shameful. The Samsung was much slower, lower contrast, not as good color..... CRAP.
What does all that mean? Simply this: do as much research as you can. Many tech sites do monitor reviews, but few mention the actual panel technology used. I could go on and on, but I'll stop here wih this-- you generally get what you pay for, so buy the best you can possibly afford. Your monitor is the most important interface a gaming computer has, don't skimp!
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