If a CRT gives you that problem it's for 2 reasons, both easily fixed.

1.  The brightness ratio is almost always greater then a LCD....one of the latter's failings....so you can easily lower brightness and contrast to be less harsh...

And

2.  Refresh rates can be adjusted....defaults are geberally 60 hz...which is no good at all.  Ideally you should set it to something beyond 80 hz 85 is a commonly accessible rate...and a good one....

I've got a 22 inch ViewSonic CRT at home...can't remember the model number now. I think the newer version is the G220f (21 inch).  It's a flatscreen, supports up to 2048x1536, has a .21mm dot pitch and has excellent color reproduction. MSRP is $519, but I'm sure you can find it for less online.

http://www.viewsonic.com/products/desktopdisplays/crtmonitors/graphicseries/g220f/