The best budget computer speakers: Surprisingly sound choices for $100 or less

You take all this care collecting gigs of your favorite music and movies, and then play it all through your laptop's built-in speakers. Even the best ones can leave your audio sounding thin and lifeless. External PC speakers--along with a good set of headphones--are a must for getting the best fidelity from your media files. A trip online or to your favorite electronics store will reveal a head-spinning variety of options to choose from, with some systems costing as much or more than you paid for your laptop. Luckily, you don't need to take out a personal loan to upgrade your audio.