First off, thanks to everyone for all the suggestions. It's nice to get suggestions and be able to talk through my ideas and get feedback.
That said, I hate to say it, but one of the things I am looking for is the "sexiness" of the touch screen. We bought a nice, old, 1912 brick bungalow that has a lot of built-in bookcases, old woodwork, that kind of thing. We have a formal living room that we are making modern, without taking away from the characteristics of a "1912 brick bungalow." We have tower speakers hidden in the corner, and no stereo equipment or really anything electronic in the room. It is nice, dark wood in there, and I figured introducing a black touch screen onto one of the shelves in the built-in bookcase would blend in nicely, and the monitor could be turned off even when there is music playing, making it even more unobtrusive. (I am trying to sort of explain in detail so you can kind of picture a little what I am talking about.)
Also, with the sound card, I will have outputs to run the cables from the computer to my steroe, a distance of maybe 10 feet. Also, with the sound card, I hope to pick up a mixer in the software, thus being able to tweak levels and almost re-master some of my shows.
I own a xbox and have a wireless network for Xbox Live, so the thought of a laptop crossed my mind, but then I wouldn't be able to use the mixer software without installing it on the laptop, where if I use a split on the monitor, I can have access to it from both screens.