Best/Easiest noob setup?

Howdy,

Im interested in growing and have been researching for the last couple of days. Buts theres still a few things im unsure about, mostly involving which strains to choose and lighting.

Ive never grown anything before in my life so im after something that most importantly is easy to grow 2nd has a good yeild and 3rd isn't too pricy.

So what im looking at the moment is Big Bud, Skunk1, northern lights and short rider. All from pick and mix.

What would be the best 3 from these? or are there some better alternatives?

And for lighting im aware i need 2 different bulbs for Veg and flowering, So in plain english without all the gargon what do i look for when i go into the lighting store?

And last thing is how nessary is the whole air extraction thing with only a 3-4 plant closet grow? Would a normal fan blowing on them be suffiecient? And what kind of a yeild if any can i expect from this noob setup?

A big thankyou to anybody who takes the time to read all that and help me out.

The strain will be less important that whether you do your part, except don't get a tall one. You mainly need to control lights, heat and smell. If smell is not a problem ventilation becomes just for heat control. If you can crank the AC in that room you're ok. You need to study lighting some more and the best buys are online. I'm happy using cfls and they keep heat down. For 3 or 4 plants you need at least 200 and more like 400 actual cfl watts. 70/30 6500/2700 in veg, reverse in flower.

Budget? Never mentioned how much you were willing to spend? Adequate air exchange is very important to the wellbeing of your plant, in some cases a simple oscilating fan is enough as long as there is a means of fresh air entering your growing area. Give cfls a go for your first grow and see how you get on. There arent the heat issues you would possibly have with hps.

a fan is needed unless you want stems that cant support the buds they put up flowering and break....or i guess you could just tie it up. but the plant wont do nearly as well. thats my opinion at least

I'm using Skunk #1 for my first grow.

I've nute burned it which is probably something a lot of first timers do, but it only lost 2 leaves to it. To my knowledge Sunk #1 is realtively noob resiliant. It does smell a bit tho.

As for lights Im only using 4 CFL lights from around the house. Dispite this she is really really healthy!

Without sounding like a crackpot I would say the most important thing is that you love your plant(s)

I just started growing again after having to leave it behind 10 years ago.
I had/have some rust still still shake off, with that in mind I kept it simple.

Look around the forums theres a section on CFL's and which to use for veg. and blooming.
I just use a small fan blowing into my closet and a computer fan cooling my ballast. The door is kept closed while my lights are on, but its gets vented every couple of hours.
while thew light is off I keep the door open and give them a nice cool night.
My temps average around 80 degrees, not ideal but hardly harmful.

Use soil, its more forgiving than a hydro or aero setup.
I use a combo of CFL and 150 watt HPS (I paid $80 for my HPS w/ remote ballast and reflector)
Im growing w/ some decent bagseed before I invest in seeds from a seedbank (work out the bugs w/ "free" seeds)
Get your space ready and run it w/ lights and all for a day or two before you germinate seeds. Work out any heat, venting or space issues before you have plants in.

Good luck man, theres a HUGE amount of information and knowledge to be had here, read up.