Great idea. Everybody goes through a progression.
As I stated in the "how I got started" thread, I was intrigued by my neighbor and his pit when I moved to KC in 2000.
OKLAHOMA JOE stick burner - This is where I cut my teeth for 4 years on that. I sold it when I moved away from KC. Didn't want to move it because it was so heavy. Man did I make alot of mistakes on that thing.
WEBER 18" SMOKEY MOUNTAIN - Cooked on that alot and loved it.
WEBER 22" SMOKEY MOUNTAIN - Thought bigger was better, but didn't like it as much. Not as efficient
COOKSHACK SMOKETTE - Wanted to go with easy since my kids were getting very busy. MISTAKE - Anybody that sez electric smokers put out great Que, has never had great Que.
BLAZ'N GRILLWORKS GRIDIRON - This made me fall back in love with BBQ.
STUMPS BABY XL - This got me really serious about BBQ
GATEWAY DRUM SMOKERS (x5) - This is my GO TO now. I have one on the patio and 4 in the Comp Trailer.
Anybody that tells me they want to get into BBQ, I tell them to by a pellet smoker. It's the easiest thing to learn to bbq on. It allows you to focus on the meat and process, without worrying about the fire or heat source.
I did have some GRILLS mixed in there. An old Sunbeam, Ducane, Weber Genesis, and Weber Performer.