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As someone who is progressing (hopefully!!) away from "beginner", I would have to agree with Marc.
For that budget, a solid mount should be high on your list. It will form the base of your investment and hopefully avoid the pain of a cheaper mount (which I did for a year with my cheaper LXD mount & almost gave up in frustration early in the piece)
Then get yourself a nice refractor. something in the 80mm to 100mm you can get from about $700-$1500 (I have a Meade 80mm triplet - I think about $800 at the moment). Then a barlow to extend your FL - but optional at this stage.
With some change, you may want to start with widefield photography (eg DSLR) unless you want to jump into the ring of fire with a dedicated CCD.
I think the last item (DSLR or CCD) is really up to your short to medium term goals and your capability. Personally, if I was starting out tomorrow knowing what I know today & budget, I would go for a DSLR to learn the skills needed to setup, track, polar align, some basic image processing (lights, darks etc). You'll be surprised how 1 year goes quickly when learning this fantastic hobby
Good luck.
Darrin...
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