please share your thoughts and preferences with pro. speakers.  What do you use for mixing, recording, or sequencing?

I like both active and passive monitors, for each has their own purpose.

I engineer for a living, so monitor preference is a big one for me.  I'm most comfortable on Yamaha NS10's or Mackie HR824's for nearfields. 

I like the NS10's because they sound fairly flat, and are great for accuracy with the mid to high end frequencies, however the low end is terrible.  The only real downfall is that you need an amp to drive them, and your sound will be better with higher quality amp.

The HR824's are great if you don't have a few other monitors for reference.  They have good low end, while maintaining a fairly flat response for the mids and highs.

For midfields I like the Mackie HR626's.

Take into account the room you have before you go out and blow a bunch of money on high end monitors.  The acoustics of your room will play a huge part in how your monitors sound.  If the room sounds like crap, good monitors won't make much of a difference.

I have some Blue Sky MediaDesk monitors on my xmas list...

I'm looking into JBL LSR 4326P

I was listening to them at Guitar Center and they pretty much rock my face off.

Those have gotten some great reviews in Mix and EQ magazine.  A lot of the post guys like them.  I haven't had a chance to do any hard mixing on them, but they sounded great at a pro audio store near me.

Take in a CD that you know in and out, and listen to monitors at the store.  Guitar Center will let you do this.  Find a pair that feel comfortable to you.

If you're on a budget (like most of us), check out the Event monitors. I'm still using a pair of PS-6's that are ok. At some point I plan to upgrade them, but they've served me well for the modest stuff that i do.

KRK, Yamaha, Alesis, Event, and Edirol all have fairly decent monitors for a low price. 

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/A7/

Check those out.  Absolutely the best near field monitors I have ever used.  For the price, they are a steal.

Most low end I have ever heard in near fields, and a fairly flat frequency response that transfers well to commerical speakers.

I'm a bit of a ignoramus with regard to monitors.  What brands should one avoid?  What's the difference between studio monitors and computer speakers?