What I do now that I'm an experience fragranatic is I do most of my shopping through reliable websites from the likes of Scentiments or amazon. If I can find a price cheaper on ebay, I spend some time trying to get good deals through auctions - which gets you a good deal with minimal effort. Another good choice is buying from basenotes sale forum ;0
Anyways, for a rookie on a budget, I recommend getting these (all can be found for ~$20 online):
Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche pour homme - great fougere
John Varvatos by John Varvatos - sweet suede
Bulgari Black - forget thats it's a unisex, its a great vanilla rubber scent
Bulgari Aqua pour Homme - one of the better aquatic scents
Mugler Cologne - unisex but an awesome citrus musk
Dior Homme and Terre d'Hermes are must haves then can be had in the $30s if you check out some of the cheap reputable onlines stores that I've mentioned
Good luck!