Hmm, not one mention of a Weber Smokey Mountain ($450 for 22.5"). Interesting.
Small learning curve on the WSM.
Thank you for mentioning the WSM. I didn't realize it was so popular and so effective. I think I am going to go down this path although I need to do some more research. Seems I can pick up a fairly new 18" locally in the $150-200 range although I think I really might want a 22". Either way that leaves a lot of extra budget for meat, wood, and charcoal. Enough that I can mess up a bunch of times as I learn to use it. Also this allows me to get into the party and determine what my needs truly are. It would suck to go big and find out its not what I really wanted.