Welcome aboard!
So please tell us a little about yourself: where do you live? what's your profession? approximate age? why the interest in audio? musical preferences?
There's never been a better time to get into audio. Internet streaming has made access to recorded music cheap and easy. Home speakers are quickly going the active route (finally) with a myriad of options. With active speakers a very nice system can be put together with a just a server/DAC and speakers for under $1000.