The worst feature of any laptop computer I've ever encountered is the sound quality and volume of the built-in laptop computer speakers. Except for applications where sound isn't very important, they're practically worthless.
External Computer Speakers
External computer speakers have been around a long time. Most external computer speakers are designed with split-signal speakers, where the single audio jack from a computer is split between the two speakers. You can't get better computer speakers without investing in something that augments the built-in audio jack, like an audio card. Also, most external computer speakers require a separate power supply.
USB-driven computer speakers for laptops can be used for desktop computers as well, but good offerings are slim. It doesn't do much good to replace junk with junk.
Laptop Computer Speakers
Paired laptop computer speakers, completely USB-driven, are available from several manufacturers. The better they are, the more expensive they tend to be.
I recently came across two companies that produce relatively inexpensive, specialized laptop computer speakers. These speakers are single units, containing stereo speakers, which sit atop the monitor and take up very little space. Because they sit near eye (as well as ear) level, they don't require as much volume to produce the same effect as paired speakers which sit lower.
The first one I spotted is made by Logitech and is called the Logitech Laptop Speaker Z205. It clips securely to most notebooks and netbooks and would probably clip on my desktop LCD monitor as well. It sells for about $39.95 and if I look hard enough, I can probably find it somewhere in the Philippines since a lot of Logitech products are already available here. If you browser their website, you'll see they carry several paired USB-driven laptop computer speakers as well.
The second one I spotted is the AQ Amigo Laptop Speaker. It doesn't appear to be distributed in the US and the UK price is £24.95 (about USD $37.79). It would probably do the trick, but it's something I wouldn't ever be able to obtain here without having it shipped in. The price and the cost of shipping doesn't make it better than what Logitech offers, even if the product is better (which I doubt).
I'm currently using a cheap computer speaker pair when I need to hear the audio on my netbook. The Logitech laptop computer speaker is what I'm going to be keeping an eye out for from now on.
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Totally agree, no laptop setup has ever even come remotely close to producing sound worth listening too. I got the Creative Gigaworks T40 Series II http://bestcomputerspeaker.com/best-computer-speaker-reviews/creative-gigaworks-t40-series-ii-review/ after buying my first laptop and have always been pleased with the sound they produce. They're not really great for portability like the Logitech Z205, but the sound is pretty sick.