I also recently got into smoking meats. The wife got me a Weber Smoky Mountain vertical smoker for Father's Day a few years back. As far as hardware goes, I highly recommend the WSM for anyone who's not 100% sure they want to start buying into the whole smoking thing. It was only a couple hundred $ new, available at all Home Depot's, and just takes regular ol' charcoal and wood chunks. It's also very light and portable (I can fit it (but nothing else) into the back of my wagon), so I can take it to my parents' for Thanksgiving and pack it away nicely in the garage. A neighbor of mine is also an amateur carpenter, and when he has clean cut-offs of an interesting wood he's using he'll give those to me.
That said, now that I'm "in" I'm looking to upgrade. A Traeger, or similar pellet smoker would be nice for the convenience (select a temp and letting tech keep it stable vs fussing with air vents makes smoking largely idiot-proof). I'm also looking at an Egg or offset for the traditional experience (and taste). Once we embark on dialing in the backyard (with the outdoor kitchen), my fancy smoker purchase will happen.
I haven't done a large cook in a while (pork butt or brisket), but lately I've focusing on perfecting ribs and poultry. Beef ribs are up next.
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