I've found one for ~15$...wondering a bit if it's worth it (yes, I need only stereo)...and in what class of devices compared to today's products it is (close to M-audio 2496 and latest E-MU cards?).

I guess answer to the first question is "yes" and to the second at least "close"/"better than consumer cards anyway"...but I wanted to make sure; to know what HA thinks about it.
Thanks in advance for advice.

If you are going to be doing audio production you are going to want to possible get a card that has MIDI I/O. It's crucial. The closet equivalent to the M-Audio 24/96 that supports that I am familiar with is the E-MU 0404, although it's a bit on the pricey side (hardware accelerated effects). Both cards support ASIO 2.0, which is another important feature for recording.

No audio production, just music/movies listening on 2.1 setup and headphones.

I would just settle for the good old Chaintech AV-710. It's cheap enough why not?

It's impossible to find here, and shipping costs make it quite expensive... :/