1. The advice about getting a decent body but saving your money for the lenses is very good. It's all about how you get light on the imaging sensor (film or CCD). The rest of it is shininess.
2. Can't go wrong with Canon or Nikon but I've seen some very good results from Sony as well.
3. Look at Craigslist for people who are upgrading to the latest models. You can find very very good cameras for less than half the cost of new. Ask them the last time the camera has been serviced or cleaned -- a lot of people ignore this and you get crud buildup on the sensor which will affect image quality.
4. I use the Canon XSi and T2i. I bought the XSi nearly 4 years ago and took wonderful pictures with it in Africa, Greece and Scandanavia. However, I didn't like the kit lenses (17-55 and 55-200) because that 55mm transition point is a pain -- I was swapping lenses like a madman sometimes. I LOVE Canon's 100-400mm IS USM L-series lens -- used it on both cameras in places ranging from Africa to Antarctica. The new sensors on the T2i and up (T3i and T4i) are fantastic at low-light photography. I got simply spectacular photos of night lights reflected on the water in Dublin and got amazingly fast (ISO 6400) low light shots. I keep the XSi as a backup just because I couldn't get much for it today and it's handy to have another body "just in case". I have nothing against Nikon, they're fabulous cameras, it's just that my family has always been Canon ever since my father bought his first F-1 decades ago.
5. Take some classes. I joined the Colorado Photography Learning Group through Meetup and have had some great seminars as well as "expeditions" to take photos. They have a "North" chapter in Denver.
6. My favorite all-around lens right now is the Tamron 18-270. I rarely ever need to swap lenses with that puppy on. It runs around $600-700 on sale at Amazon or Adorama but really is a great all-in-one. My next favorite lens is the 100-400 for long-distance wildlife shots but it's a heavy beast and very very expensive so best you work on skills using something like the 18-270 (Canon and Nikon have equivalents but you'll pay through the nose for them).