The main display resolutions available for LCS are really:

1280x1024 (SXGA): 17", 19" LCD
1680x1050 (WSXGA+): 20", 22" 16:10 (sometimes called 8:5) Wide LCD
1920x1200 (WUXGA): 24" 16:10 Wide LCD

You can get 17" Wide at 1440x900, but that's quite a step back in vertical resolution. More exoctic displays like 1600x1200 19" have been around, and may still exist, but the big brand manufacturers don't do them.

The more important aspects of a panel are really the colour quality and uniformity. Response time plays a big part, but it's pretty near impossible to cut through all the smoke and mirrors and try and compare one response time to another, because they have all different ways of measuring it. As the100thmonkey said, the better technology is the more mature technology, so generally speaking, desktop LCDs have better operating specifications that cutting edge laptop panels. The most reliable method to judge a panel is the manufacturer. Samsung, LG and (ashamedly) Dell are my favourites. Philips is also pretty good.

What you're probably noticing with the laptop display is not so much the resolution itself, but the DPI. A 17" LCD at 1280x1024 will have a visibly better image that 19" at 1280x1024 because the 17" has to fit more dots in a smaller area ("more dots per inch"). This is a good argument for choosing a smaller panel.

Refresh rate doesn't play a part at all, it's always 60~75 Hz, with the differences being utterly meaningless. In fact, 60 Hz is usually the best setting for most LCDs. In the days of CRT, low refresh rates would product a noticeable flicker, resulting in eye strain. Most people weren't comfortable until the refresh rate was up near the 80 Hz mark. With LCDs, it's merely a synchronisation clock speed.