Welcome to TalkBass, rice103!
If you haven't browsed the newbie links at the top of each forum yet, I recommend you do, as there is a wealth of valuable info there that will probably answer a lot of your questions.
Another thing you could do is find a bass player who could go with you to look at basses, and help you find a good starter bass.
Also, if you are going to be serious about playing the bass, you need to get a teacher, since there is a lot of bad technique that might be developed that could cause you injuries, not to mention will make it much harder to learn the "right" way later.
Hope this helps some, and other, more knowledgeable people than me may post later with more advice and info.
- Johonn
