If I were you I'd spend $1k on a massive plasma tv.

Save the other $2k for a few years.

Then buy a 4k tv in 2-4 years when the prices drop.

Plasmas are NOT as bad as you've heard. I've (seriously) gamed on huge, top of the range LCDs, LEDs and Plasmas. I guarantee you that plasmas are very, very much comparable to the other two and even better in some respects.

Don't listen to people who bash plasma just because they spent twice the amount on the same size LCD/LED tv. Right now, the best value for money is plasma.

Wait.  Until HDMI 2.0 is in a 4K TV it is not worth getting.

If you go for a Samsung or an LG then make sure you read reviews. Their TVs are good but sometimes have bad reviews.
I believe the Samsung H series TVs are 2014 models and F is 2013. The Sony TVs that end with the letter B are 2014 models and A is 2013. I don't know how to recognize the year for LG TVs.

This TV would probably be amazing, and well within your budget, and 4K.

http://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/televisions/x8500b-series

Plasmas aren't without their drawbacks:  They are susceptible to burn-in if not broken in correctly and they run hot, which can easily heat up a smaller room quickly.  They are also less energy efficient than LEDs, they have more reflective screens making them less ideal for brightly lit rooms, and they're heavy.

Having said that, however, if you're going for the best picture quality (which is imperative to me personally), plasmas are better than LEDs and leave standard LCDs in the dust.  They have wonderful contrast ratios (light to dark aspects), excellent motion detail without the lame "soap opera" effect of 120/240Hz LED/LCD, and an unmatched off-axis viewing angle, meaning the picture quality does not falter if you're not sitting directly centered.

In short, if you can live with the heat they produce (it is a gas-based tech) and you break them in correctly to get them past their initial image retention and potential burn-in problems, then plasmas produce a better looking, more natural picture at a cheaper price.  I'd recommend a Panasonic Viera (now that Pioneer is gone).  Samsung has good models too.

If you absolutely would rather have something other than plasma, then go for an LED backlit LCD with local dimming.  I'd go for a Samsung here (Sony is good too).

Oh, and OLED, while beautiful, are far too expensive now or in the near future, and 4k res is not really worth investing in any time soon due to a lack of native content.  Unless you want to PC game with a good rig on your TV, I'd stick with 1080p for now.

Here are a couple of links to help you out:

http://www.soundandvision.com/content/do-you-prefer-plasma-or-lcd-tvs

http://www.soundandvision.com/content/should-you-get-lcd-or-plasma-flat-panel

After ignoring Sony tv's for the past five years and trying Samsung and LG, I have had constant issues with build quality and image quality, then after buying a Sony Bravia W9 series television last year I know I will likely stick with Sony from now on. The image quality is phenomenal and still amazes me to this day, the people on screen almost look 3d, and the input lag for gaming is non-existent. With your budget you could easily afford the set I have with plenty of cash let over for a good surround system.

Doesn't mather which type of tv you buy, just make sure it's a Philips

My advices:

- don't go for 4K. Right now, it just drives the price but is of no real use as there is no 4K content. Go for 4K in a few years when you buy your next TV, when the technology will be both cheap and mature
- Get a 3D (capable) TV. Even if you might not be a big fan of 3D, it's still an interesting feature that hardly increases manufacturing costs at all.
- Don't put too much focus on "Smart TV features". They usually turn out to be much less useful than one would think. Better attach a HTPC/media center PC/Raspberry Pi-like device to the TV which gives you complete freedom.
- Consider that no matter how expensive the TV might be, the sound quality will be complete crap. So in case you don't already have some kind of speaker system/sound bar attached to the TV, you need to spend at least some money on that as well, as it will improve the experience much more than most other features.

I heard that the major brands like Samsung are ceasing production of plasma this year, so I would avoid that technology in favour of OLED.

Tube TVs have the best picture quality. Together with PS2 it is best gaming experience.