Soundbars are absolutely worth the money, so is surround sound. It truly depends what your end goal is with audio, you have options based on price. Also, don't listen to any nonsense about audio delay, almost every soundbar has settings to adjust audio and sync properly.
Soundbars:
1. Low end are typically $100 and under - even a cheap soundbar is miles better than the built in speakers on modern TV's, these will likely not include a subwoofer.
2. Mid range are typically $200-350 - this is where you'll find most of the Samsung, LG, and some Sony model soundbars, many of these include subwoofers and have Bluetooth if you feel like streaming audio from a phone / tablet.
3. High end are typically $700+ and can range to a couple grand depending on brand, sometimes not even including a subwoofer. You'll find everything from Sonos to Bowers and Wilkins.
Surround sound:
Surround sound basically comes in two flavors - "HTIB" which means home theater in a box, and build your own. The most common set ups are 5.1 or 7.1 meaning 5 or 7 speakers and a subwoofer.
1. HTIB $300-700 - A home theater in a box is where you literally get everything in a single box. These systems will include either 5 or 7 speakers, a subwoofer , and a receiver or faux receiver. What I mean by this is that often times these devices are proprietary meaning that the receiver isn't replaceable, in fact the speakers may be proprietary too, so if something breaks you're out of luck.
2. Real deal surround sound $ depends on what you want, these systems are very modular and interchangeable. You can start off small and build as you go or do it all at once, for example you can start with a receiver and 2 speakers, add a sub, add 3 more speakers later etc. A good 5.1 setup is going to start at $1000 but you can go cheaper or much more expensive, a few grand is more than reasonable in this category. The long terms benefits here are incredible because nice speakers can last 10-15 years easily, and the receiver can be swapped out as technology advances. Speakers don't really get outdated like other tech.
What I went with:
Personally I went with the Sonos Playbar setup. The Sonos is kind of a best of both worlds because it allows you to have a surround setup of sorts and has wireless music capabilities and can be linked up with their other speakers. The Sonos Playbar starts at $700, the Sonos Sub is $700 as well and can be linked with 2 additional Sonos Play 1 or Sonos Play 3 Speakers. This gives you a fully wireless surround set up but it isn't the cheapest option obviously.
Hope this helps!