Im in the market for a new sound card and i would like to know what specificly i should look for.
Depends on your speakers/stereo and if you plan on upgrading them in the future.
Some things too look for in a decent card; frequency responce at least 20-20 000hz, sampling rate 192khz, bit rate 24, and a high signal to noise ratio (SNR). Some other things could be swappable OP amps, EMI shield, headphone amp, gold connections are a good idea but only connections. Also make sure it will fit on your motherboard because an audio card from 2008 maybe earlier is still top of the line or close to it today.
I dont know what you mean by good but heres the best and I highly recomend it. https://www.asus.com/Sound_Cards_and_DigitaltoAnalog_Converters/Xonar_Essence_STX/#specifications
heres why http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/asus_xonar_essence_stx_soundcard_review,3.html
Not to be facetious but anything with the xonar branding. If you're looking for a replacement for onboard, then go the DG DS line of things. If you have something more specialized, then it's really up to you to find out what your specific audio setup is going to need in terms of an amp to drive it. If you're lazy just shell out all the money and buy the top of the line essence cards.
Fuck creative.