Tonemonster: I've been playing guitar for over 37 years now (boy..are my fingers tired)
On the serious side. I got my first synth 10 years ago. There are a lot of good makes & models out there, from Korg, to Roland, to Yamaha etc. For me, and this is just my opinion, Korg has been the friendliest I've found yet.
Good Luck in your search.