Are rear speakers really important in a home theatre system?

Are rear-speakers a big deal in a home theatre set up? It seems like noise coming out right behind your head would actually be annoying. Isn't a sub-woofer and good front speakers more than enough for a great sounding sytem?

FYI, this is my concern for my specific situation:

-I am going to buy a 42 inch LCD TV from Best Buy and I am also going to get a $500 type speaker system with a receiver, sub-woofer etc.

-I think that I am going to not get rear-speakers with my system because I don't want to have to bother with figuring out how to snake the wires under my carpet.

-I could get wireless rear-speakers but these will probably be expensive.

-I could always but rear-speakers to add into my system later

Thanks for any information.

In my opinion, the rear speakers are essential for true surround sound. There are a few systems out there that claim to have surround sound from only the front speakers, but they are mediocre at best. The rear speakers mainly provide the ambient noises, like people noises if the scene in a movie takes place in a train station or something. Occasionally sound will move from the front speakers to the back, like when a TIE fighter flies at and then past you - so you get a more 3-D sound effect. Most of the speech will come from your front center speaker, so there won't be constant noise coming from behind your head (except when the speaker is off-screen, or to the right or left of the camera). Most set-ups even recommend aiming the speakers away from the couch, to bounce the sound off of the walls.

You can get some cheap stick-on tracks to run cable along your floorboards without it being too obvious, if you don't want to run it under the carpet. Stay away from wireless. The quality just isn't there yet, and the interference and buzzing noises will drive you crazy.

Rear speakers are crucial in a 5.1 setup. I can't imagine being without them. In gaming they actually play a key role, especially in shooters. While playing a game such as Gears of War or Call of Duty you can literally hear if an enemy is walking or running up behind you giving you the opportunity to turn around and not be surprised.

In movies too they really help with setting ambiance in many scenes since they are used often for echo's and reverb.

Don't skimp on the rear channels.