Regarding gloss, it really does make the screen look crystal clear and appears to deliver better looking images but it can be a bit annoying if there is a light source in front of the screen as there will be quite a bit of glare.
If I were to recommend a monitor I would recommend the 22" HP w2207, looks very elegant (it's also glossy) and delivers great contrast and beautiful images Very awesome monitor. You can also get the w2207h which supports HDMI input if your graphics card or gaming console support that.