I think the whole sound bar market is a response to the prevalence of flat screens. The old TVs are dead, RIP, but we needed a way to have intelligible sound again. Sound bars are the least expensive way to do that. Even when you just focus on sound bars, there is a big price range, some adding additional speakers and even a subwoofer. I still believe 5.1 is the way to go, but if that is too much of an investment, you won't go wrong with a sound bar.
