Unless you're a SERIOUS power-user, use namecheap.com
No need to run your own UNIX server. Heck, I don't even know how to get it up and running. I've been really happy with tech support and their convertion from my previous host was super-fast (like 2 days). Saves me about $100/year using them for everything.

Wordpress is a dream come true for me, from when I used to hard-code HTML on Notepad, and then had the pleasure to upgrade to AOLpress.

Look at this great plug from Wikipedia!

In 1998, AOLpress made PC Magazine's "Best Products of the Year" issue. The editors describe it as "the only program that combines WYSIWYG Web page editing, HTML source code editing, Web site management, and Web browsing in a single interface." The article goes on to say that AOLpress "isn't simply an editor that looks like a browser. It is a browser."