Hey duvie,
personally i prefer having one large monitor, although i use it mainly for photoshop work (and games shhh ).
If you are not into games/ movies dont bother going for one with a low response time, since they usually tend to sacrifice a bit of contrast when compared to some 20/25ms models.
If you want a good monitor i'd buy from these brands
BenQ (high end models are divine, low end are a bit cheapish) - many of my friends have these
ViewSonic (expensive but amazing) - my current monitor
Samsung (best image quality) - never owned one, but my cousin does
Relisys - These we sell a lot at work, they are cheapish since they arent a big name - they are insanely reliable - so far only 1 dead pixel with over 2000 shipped units, and some minor issues like power supplies. Also they use samsung panels 90% of the times and have excellent clarity and colour reproduction. I owned a TL-766 i believe the code is, excellent monitor, never a hiccup
some brands i've never come into contact with are LG, Dell, Nec and sony. I've heard they are good but cant reccomend first hand
regs
Kurt