I just started a couple years ago myself, so I'm not qualified to hand out any technical advice, but I will second troutfly's recomendation of a starter set.
I was pretty much confusing myself untill a trusted friend steered me to one of Reddingtons packages, and although I learned a long time ago to never say never, I really don't think I'll ever "need" to upgrade.
Course, there's always that "want/need" thing, but so far I'm enjoying myself and catching fish and that's good enough for me.
In the case of fly fishing, The want/need thing doesn't exist! They are all needs! LOL
Seriously though, I have heard good stuff about the Reddington starter sets. All the starter sets by the "Name" companies are built around a rod/reel/line correctly matched to each other as well as species of fish to a certain degree. Just add flies, water and fish, a couple lessons and you'll never look back.
