I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for a good sound card/speakers. Right now I'm using the built-in audio from my motherboard and the built-in speakers on my monitor (audio wasn't my biggest concern when building my desktop).

I'd like to upgrade to a 2.1 speaker setup, but I don't know too much about sound cards or speakers. Any suggestions would be great.

Budget: $80-90 max for sound card, $150 max for speakers
**Canadian dollars, not U.S.
**will be purchasing from Tiger Direct, Canada Computers and Newegg... although the first two are preferred

Have a look at the Logitech LS 11 speakers. They are just stereo, plug into your audio out socket, they have a mains transformer you will need to plug in, but will be a big improvement on what you have.
If you want a lot more bass sound, then 2.1 is far more effective, and I bought the Logitech X230 for my PC, but now use them on my TV !
In my opinion, the bass can be too much, but if you roll up some paper and push it into the bass port, it reduces the bass output quite a bit, and with that mod I am happy with the sound I get. These still plug into the audio 'out' socket, and no mods needed to your pc.
If you want better sound than that, then you will need a 5.1 sound card, there are many, Trust, Genius, Soundblaster, prices vary greatly and could depend on where you live as to what choice you have.

Asus Xonar DS PCI 7.1 Sound Card

Logitech Z623 Speaker System