Also moving to a new place with a yard soon, and I've done a bunch of research. If you want a gas grill, the hands-down winner is the Weber Genesis Silver. Easy to put together, solid, and reliable. On the charcoal/wood side, the Weber Smokey Mountain is pretty popular--although it's more a proper smoker than a grill. If you decide to go the smoker route, here's a great introductory course.

Oh, and the best charcoal/wood grills are the custom made behemoths like this:

≡ Click to see image ≡

Grill? Man dig pit, pile rocks. Man tear down trees with bare hands, some buddies, and maybe a pickup and some rope. Man put wood in pit, make fire, roast things on fire. Then get drunk, piss on fire, and fire go out. Womenfolk complain of smell, but men already passed out.

Gas-fueled barbecues are an abomination.

Gas is for grilling.

Wood is for barbecuing.

Grilling and barbecuing are two WILDLY different things.

Gas-fueled means not dealing with charcoal and not waiting for the coals to heat up. IOW, gas is easier. I have both. I need to replace both one of these days.

I've got a Weber Q gas grill that I love. Its portable so I can travel with it and its got a great big grilling surface (for a small family its perfect). Its got a cart that doubles for transporting it as well and the new ones have a temp gauge in the lid too.

flopsy, not everyone has the time to wait for briquets to get to the right place, gas is convenient and works just fine. Some of us just need to cook, now.

Now if I was going to slow cook some ribs, then yeah, I'd set up a smoker like I saw Alton Brown do (terracotta pots, heavy pie pan, wood chips and a hot plate).

That said, I'm thinking about getting myself one of those Big Green Eggs.

Wow. Lotta answers so far. And yer opinionated too! Thanks.

I'm vegetarian if that alters your answer. It'll be a meat free appliance.

*ducks*

Gas then. And you don't need anything particularly fancy if meat is not involved, just make sure you have enough space for whatever you want to grill. I love grilled yellow squash myself.

Since you have gotten some great grill information, let's move on to what to cook on your new grill. Corn on the cob, as well as vegetable shishkebobs are great on the grill, as are some kinds of fruit. I'd like my steak medium rare please, ooh and that lobster tail on the far right.

oh oh oh! with a grill or bbq you can make really nice veggie dishes! throw some veggies (whatever you like) with some spices and olive oil in a folded foil packet and let er cook up.... tastytown!

Grilled bell peppers (in festive colors) are excellent, as are grilled zucchini and corn. Season them, splash a little olive oil on them and have at it!

You can also try peaches, apricots and avocados (don't let these "cook" too long, just long enough to get grill marks is usually plenty!).

Don't tell the salesperson it will be a meatless bbq or he may just shake his head sadly and ignore you from then on.

Grilled broccoli is good too. And carrots. Oh, one other thing. My gas grill has a side burner - I have NEVER used it. So unless you have an idea of what you might do with it, do not let a salesperson talk you into buying a more expensive grill for something you very well might find useless.

Kettle grills are nice (Weber or knockoffs of similar shape).

You want charcoal, not gas. If all you want to do is sear vegetables (or meat) with dry heat, use your @#$%# broiler. If you want it seared with dry heat and with lines on it, put a grill rack in the oven, take it to ~500, and then turn on the broiler.

The point of cooking out is the whole ritual of cooking out, not the particular method of cooking.

And charcoal is all about the ritual. Gas is... I dunno, it's like having a big church wedding with no vows because that's easier.

You don't need to wait forever for coals. This is why the good Lord gave us chimney starters, even if people in Greater Yankeeland seem not to have heard of these miracles of convective science. Wad up newspaper. Put in bottom of starter. Put charcoal in top of starter. Light newspaper. Sit down and read for 10, 15 minutes -- you have HOLY SHIT INFERNO FLAMES WHISTLING OUT OF THE TOP OF IT IT'S GLOWING RED INSIDE!! Dump coals into grill, replace rack, cook.

If you do get a Weber, it is to be referred to as "the Weber," not "the grill." I don't know why. Some strange suburban custom.

Don't let anyone tell you x is not the real deal. Chimneys and coals are good in some situations, but what about briquets v. charcoal? Or starter fluid? Charcoal's great for big pieces of meat, but for veggies, gas has very close to the same effect. It also takes at least thiry minutes longer than gas, so if you're using your grill as an adjunct to your kitchen stove (as vegetarians are wont to do), gas is the way to go. Also, the size of your crowd is important; if you cook for just one or two, I'd recommend the CharBroil Patio Caddy. My brother cooks for his wife and son on it and has no complaints. If you're cooking for many, and doing barbecues, a charcoal grill really works better. You can control temperature by raising and lowering the grill, and most big grills have a secondary, higher rack for warming.

The Big Green Egg that ColdChef recommends is a great grill; a friend of mine cooks all summer and half the winter on one, and loves it. They're great for smoking (so are Big Green Buds).

If you go to a grill store, the staff won't shut up about BTUs. But then they won't tell you about heat dispersion and cooking evenness and the effects of size and shape of the grill on how those BTUs cook your food. There's a BTU number that is really the maximum you need, kind of like SPF 45 with sunscreen. I don't know what it is.

But seriously, mistrust anyone who tells you certain things have to be cooked a certain way. That's usually received wisdom, not experience, talking.

Ahhhhhh. You people are all so wonderfully helpful.

*kisses and makes each of you Grilled Red Peppers stuffed with Black Kale*

I'd recommend a kettle, as they're super cheap, easy to use, and bulletproof. I wouldn't worry about the start-up time for charcoal, by the way: my previous grill was propane, and once I got used to lighting the grill before my prep, it became a non-issue.