In addition to the Dell recommendations I would like to suggest that you take a look at a little known brand that really should get more attention. The company is Sceptre and they primarily make LCD displays which is what you would have in your laptop obviously. The awesome thing about Sceptre is that because they are an LCD manufacturer they have spectacular screens and video cards in their laptops. I bought one about 10 years ago and had a 1400x1050 resolution with a 16 meg video card. Note that that was 10 years ago. By now I'm sure they have really perfected their displays. Whether you get one or not, you should at least check out what they offer.
http://www.sceptre.com/Products/Notebook/index.htm

Also, as an IT person I deal with laptops daily. I build and repair them on a regular basis in addition to my other duties. We use Sonys and I'm familiar with pretty much their entire line and will tell you that you should not consider them as a contender. Their max resolutions leave a lot to be desired and the support is a serious bear to deal with. I've discovered that Dell stands behind their products 100% and will go to great lengths to keep happy customers, but I will strongly encourage getting the extended warranty on a laptop especially one that you travel with.