Probably. The gap is narrowing all the time, but the very best LCDs ( like the new LED-based models ) are still rather more expensive than comparable plasmas. But note that the differences aren’t huge. Overall customer satisfaction with ALL modern flat-panel TVs is very high.
I think at this point the “longer-lasting” is more potential than real. This is an area where plasmas have narrowed the gap on the other side.
I’d go bigger. At ~nine feet I’m at 50" and while it is just fine on reflection I think 58" would have been even better. While everybody varies a bit on how they perceive things, the general rule of thumb for most consumers when it comes to flat-panels is “bigger is better.” As noted large widescreen flat-panels can look HUGE in the store, especially if you’re moving up from an old 4:3 CRT. But once you get them in the house, this tends to disappear. Bigger screens are more immersive, assuming they aren’t so huge and you’re so close you notice pixels or your eyes have to constantly roam the screen. There is a happy medium, but it tends to be slightly larger than most folks initially judge. For HD content 40" or more is probably recommended. For 1080p, some say say 50" or more.
I went plasma. Modern LCDs at the same pricepoint utilizing 120 Hz modes for smoothness seem just a little “video-like” to my eyes - very sharp and bright, but film looks more like it was shot on high-end video, rather than film stock. That’s extremely subjective, though - not everybody perceives it that way.
LCDs are brighter, tend to be less reflective ( though the better ones are more reflective these days, because you can get darker blacks that way - many Samsung models in particular, often among the best of the LCD sets, have this issue ) and thus work better in brighter rooms. This is not incidentally why LCDs tend to look much better in big box stores and easily outperform plasma in sales. But all TV viewing suffers in brighter light. If you can shutter your viewing room, plasma is still just a bit better according to most reviewers.
Generally I don’t think you can go wrong either way. For me it was only a little more than a coin-toss decision.
Brand-wise, with the demise of Pioneer, Panasonic and Samsung seem to be the way to go on plasma. LCD-wise, Samsung and Sony ( pricey ) seem tops. I got this one, now one generation old and last year’s news: CNET: Product reviews, advice, how-tos and the latest news
( I’d always spot that damn distracting wire myself - had to train myself to ignore it when writing text on my old CRT monitor ). But I think you might be willing to grant that based on the above you’re probably a tad more discerning than the average TV viewer.