When you choose a laptop you must choose first the use you want to do with.
If you plan to use the laptop as a desktop replacement you can buy a 17" widescreen, big display is power hungry... you will have to find a power supply every corner to use it out of your home. If you want a 17" there's nothing much to say, almost every new laptop has everything you will need, large Hard Disk drive, DVD burner, Wi-Fi, enough USB ports, etc.

If you think to use the laptop as a mobile tool i would recommend a 15,4", lighter and smaller, usually i can fit it in a trolley, hanging around without carrying another bag at the airport is always good for me. After this i would look at the CPU, IMHO Intel are way better than AMD, i would try to get at least a Core 2 Duo. Ram should be at least 2Gb (if not you can ask for a compatible addon, usually it would be cheap). Other features are almost common on every model, personally i want Wi-Fi, at least 3 USB, a Smart card (SD) reader (useful for unloading pictures from your digital camera without wasting resources installing camera software) and a Firewire (IEEE1394) port. A good Graphic Card would be nice if you plan gaming or if you want to play with video editing (in this last case i would recommend to buy an External Hard Disk Drive too). Bluethooth is useless for me.

The very bad news is the Operative System. Every new laptop comes with the crap Windows Vista... For those not in the business, Micro$oft is planning to release the new O.S. in the 2009, trying to walk over the Vista flop, and the "old" Windows XP got an extended life. If you will try to run with Vista you will need to make some "tuning", like removing a lot of useless tools to speed up the machine. You need to find a good service or a good expert in family, it's not easy.

After all this talking, i don't know what can you find, but i think the Toshiba Satellite A-200 series will be good for you and it's not expensive, for the 15".

If you still want a 17" the Satellite P-300 series will be good.

Ciao.