Ok, so here's what I've come to conclude from looking for a sound card. Maybe someone else who is as confused as I was will find it helpful. I'm just going to list the brands/cards from "worst" to "best". I've stayed away from technical explanations, mostly because I don't fully understand all the tech speak of sound cards. A big thanks to gamerk316 for all the input/help from his posts here and throughout the forum.
I should start by saying if you're coming from looking at info about video cards, sound cards are an entirely different beast. There are quantifications of quality/ability (RMAA?), but they're not easy to find and it seems like once you near the $100 price point, in general all cards have above average quality. Four important things I've found:
1. If you don't have a mid to high end speaker/headphone setup, you probably won't be able to hear much of a difference between onboard and a sound card. Ask around about your phones or speakers first to determine if a sound card upgrade would be beneficial.
2. While X-Fi is recognized as the end all be all of chips for gaming sound, there seems to be a general consensus that if you're using Vista or 7, the chips "edge" is diminished.
3. A lot of people and review sites make a big deal about EAX support. EAX is considered legacy/deprecated. Unless you are playing games that are two to three years old, it's really not necessary. In other words, EAX and X-Fi should not be determining factors in what you buy.
4. There is no "best" in sound cards like there is in video cards. Every card has strengths and flaws. It's up to you to decide what you need/want and go from there. You'll find it very strange that the top of the line models sometimes lack features that lower end models have, but that's the way it is.
If you are looking for an HTPC card, they make cards specifically for HTPCs; you're probably better off researching an HTPC card than one of the cards I was looking at. If you fancy yourself an audiophile (you are well versed in the capacitors, OP-AMPS, etc. that you like) I'm guessing that a card >$200 will be more to your liking. The cards that approach $200 seem to border on audiophile level, but I've gotten the feeling that an audiophile won't be completely happy with any sub-$200 card. Finally, I'm not trying to troll any cards here, just reporting what I read on Head-Fi, Tom's Hardware, AVSForums and the manufacturer's sites, with some review sites mixed in.
Creative: I looked into Creative the least, but it is by far the brand that everyone likes least. A lot of the animosity seems to come from their initial poor driver support of Vista and 7. It seems like they've fixed up their drivers, but audiophiles seem to agree that they use the "poorest" components to make their cards. I think that if you're just looking for a sound card for gaming, it's not a terrible choice, just not the best. If you want something closer to audiophile quality, you should look elsewhere.
Auzentech: Auzentech appears to be recommended whenever someone is looking for a gaming card rather than Creative since it is excellent for gaming and also decent for music. The X-Fi chip that both Auzentech and Creative use are supposed to be far superior for gaming than anything else. At the same time, as mentioned above, there seems to be consensus that X-Fi just isn't that useful in Vista and 7. Everything I've read about the Auzentech Forte/Bravura/Prelude/Meridian seems to be good, except on the flip side, there seems to be lots of users that have faulty cards after about a year. It's all anecdotal, but even people that love the card readily admit that their cards haven't lasted long. The high end cards are difficult to find anywhere other than Auzentech's own web site, and even then they are mostly sold out (they actually have posts saying when they are expecting a new shipment). Furthermore, some message boards claim that their customer service is awful (the BBB gives them a rating of F), they have supposedly closed their CA offices and their forums are close to dead. The cards are raved about, but given low supply and spotty service, I selected to pass. If you're willing to take a chance, they're good cards.
Asus Xonar D2/DX2: I really didn't look into the D2 very much. From what I can tell, it's a good card but the quality of the card is so close to the D1/DX, that you might as well save yourself about $100 (the DX seems to always have a MIR) and buy the D1/DX instead.
HT Omega Striker: It seems like this is the best sub-$100 card since everyone seems to like it. If all you want is a good sound card without thinking much, this is probably the one you should get. It lacks a headphone amp and uses a chip that's a step down from the Claro's and Essence, but it's still a solid card overall. It seems to be more of a music card than a gaming card, but no one seems to really mind.
HT Omega Claro/Claro+/Claro Halo: Any of the Claro cards are considered very nice. As you move up the product line (and price) you get a few more features with the Halo having the best features and a headphone amp. There is agreement that HT Omega's customer service is unbelievably good, and all the components they use are considered high quality. Unfortunately HT Omega only sells through Newegg (in the US at least) and their products don't go on sale often. Also, finding reviews for the Halo was difficult at best. I know it is one of the better sound cards, I just can't say how good it really is without more review info. Once again, the Claro's seem more geared to music listening than gaming. As such, if you listen to music more than you game, this is probably the card for you. As for which Claro to get, if you only use headphones, you should get the Halo; if you only use speakers, you're probably safe with the Claro or Claro+ and the $25-50 you save. One thing to note about HT Omega products in general, they don't go on sale often; if you see one on sale at Newegg, and you are the least bit interested, buy it.
Asus Essence ST/STX: Of the upper end cards, the Essence seems to be considered the "best". They have a headphone amp and have the ability to simulate EAX. They are considered to have some of the best components and offer the best headphone listening of the cards I've mentioned. However, they do have some flaws and I've heard varying complaints about a drop off in sound quality. If you game more than you listen to music, I'd recommend these over the Claro's. However, if you run your PC through a receiver or use speakers exclusively, it seems that the Claro's are considered to be a better choice. While there isn't supposed to be any difference between PCI and PCIe sound cards, there seems to be an acknowledgement that the ST (PCI version) has better sound quality than the STX (PCIe version). If you have the choice, and the price is the same, it's probably better to go with the ST.
Conclusion: Wow, wrote way more than anticipated, hope you made it this far. Really, none of the cards are truly awful or even bad. The only brand you might want to not even think about is Creative and only because you will be forever ridiculed when you ask for help on a message board. If you are looking for a sub-$100 card, you can't go wrong with the HT Omega Striker. Moving up in price gives minimal gains, but if you really fancy yourself as a (budding) audiophile, it's probably worthwhile to put in the extra $50-100 and get one of the higher end cards.
I ended up going for the Asus Essence STX. I don't have great headphones (HD 555) but I wanted to push them as far as I could. The Essence seems to be considered the "best" but do have some flaws. Ultimately it came down to knowing that I'm really only going to use headphones for gaming and price. It seems the Essence is considered to be really good for headphone use (as well as a more capable gaming card) and I found the card at superbiiz.com for $157.99 (after coupon code HOLIDAYCHEER). If it wasn't for the price drop, I probably would have stuck with the Striker. I also probably wouldn't have been able to make a decision between the Essence and Halo if the Halo was closer to $160. I don't have the card yet, but I'm anxious to see how it stacks up to the onboard I've been using. Hopefully the above helps someone out in the future.
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