The advice checklist:

1. Don't do roosters unless you REALLY want one.
2. Its more expensive in set up costs to hatch eggs, but it is fun. You'll have higher mortality, so if watching fluffy chicks die is more than you are up for, go for day old chicks. I would get chicks for just starting out.
3. Find out what the "Filler Chick" policy is for your vendor (McMurray or Stromberg have both done well for me.) Nothing like ordering 4 and getting 30 to add a little excitement to your day.
4. I keep my new chicks indoors in a cheap plastic kid's swimming pool for the first couple of weeks with a warming lamp. Not only does it help them through the transition, but they are very fun to watch.
5. Don't freak out when they stop laying eggs and loose their feathers in the winter. It just happens sometimes.
6. Do it! Keeping chickens is a blast.