Welcome, George.
My experience was similar to yours, except that there were/are no bricks & mortar shops where I live, so I went from gas station cigalikes to internet sources. The people here are friendly and full of information...most of it sound. Most of us tend to declare that whatever we like best is excellent on some objective scale. In fact, there are loads of good liquids and hardware products available, and part of learning which suits you is trying stuff out. There will probably be both successes and fiascos. That's ok.
Find what you like and enjoy it.