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Doc,
This video from the Taylor website was VERY helpful for me.  Watch the "Care & Feeding Part 1 and Part 2"

http://www.taylorguitars.com/see-hear/

On the right side of the page there is a box called See/Hear, under that there is an item called Wood&Steel Video Extras.  Click on that item and watch the two features that I mentioned above.  Sorry but there does not appear to be a direct link to the video. 

R

There may not be that much difference in the woods but there is a difference in construction techniques and a significant difference in tonal quality (although my frame of reference is unplugged only).  There is some anti-Gibson (acoustic) sentiment out there today.  There is a perception that that they have a lot of sales based on advertising and endorsements of stars.  BUT, there are MANY players who swear by the Gibson Jumbos.  I think that you hit the nail on the head when you said a lot of it is personal preference.

It may be corny but I always thought Shania's "From This Moment" was a beautiful wedding song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHu9v29opVo

Keith Urban's

My son and 2 or 3 of his friends have become interested in guitar.  Most of the parents, myself included, are ecstatic that their kids are interested in music BUT, most parents have a list of the "new hobbies" their kids tried and abandoned.  Consequently, most parents are reluctant to dive too deep into the guitar pool.  So, these packages make sense on many different levels.  Yes, it is great that parents won't forget an integral component, but more than that, the equipment in these packages is more than adequate for a beginner to guage his/her interest in music.  If their devotion wanes, then the money spent was minimal, if they stick with it and show lasting interest, THEN the parents and kids can upgrade the equipment.  My son started with the a Strat Pack and is really devoted to guitar.  When the time came, I had no problem upgrading him to a Mexican Fat Strat.  My nephew has the Ibanez starter pack.  He is invovlved in sports 12 months out of the year.  He likes guitar but just doesn't have time to play, so the Ibanez is there when he wants to play, but it really is all he needs now.

So, to me, it's really not so much about if the bundled gear is a good deal based on price, it's more about the bundled gear being good enough for a beginner to determine his or her commitment.

Justin demonstrates this in his video lesson.  While he is WAY more agressive than I would be, I did it that last time I changed strings and only needed to make one minor adjustment the next day.  In the past I was making major adjustments for at least 2 days.  It makes sense that a performer needs a way to restirng a string and only tune it once.

Well the problem with Ebay is that it violates the "let your ears decide".  In fact there are many opinions BUT most are to play as many as you can.  A good rule of thumb regarding pricing on new guitars is to have the Musician's Friend or some other internet price handy and be sure that they are at least in the ball park.  Most shops recognize that they must compete with internet pricing.  Also, because you are newbie, you maybe more inclined to like a guitar that may surprise you. FOr example when I bought my ALvarez, I had done all my research and was sure I wnated a Yamaha.  I tried the Ymaha but as soon as I picked up the Alvarez it felt great particulrly in te neck and action and had a very rich sound.  Hey, nobody was more surprised than me.  But you've gotta gotta gotta touch them and hear them.  In terms of used guitar prices, I'm not sure if there is a rule of thumb.  Maybe somebody else can chime in on that.

Born to Run  Brother (I was 12 in 1976 when I bought it) !  Latest album purchase?... Magic.  Coincidence?  I think not!

I'm too lazy to re-type so I'll cut and paste from some other posts:

Some background before we get started.  I'm 43 and have been playing a few months and am progressing nicely and I’m happy with my progress.  I know CAGED Em,Am,  G7, E7, etc.  I’ve finally gotten the F but need to work on speed with it next.  I play 40-60 min EVERY DAY.  I am playing lots of songs (playing them well if I do say so myself) and am having a BLAST.  I’m a fairly good singer and my interest in music has been life long and have planned on playing my entire life but I finally did something about it a few months ago when I jumped in and bought a guitar. 

I play both types of music Country and Western.  Ok j/k but I do play mostly country but I’m the words biggest Bruce Springsteen fan so it’s really that I like to play ballads of country, rock, folk etc.

I started with a Fender Squire, gave t to my son bought a Mexican Fat Strat but when my interest in music began to clarify I realized I needed an acoustic guitar.  My wifey plays, but I hate her Ovation so I went out and bought an Alvarez PD80SC and I really like it but……..now things are a little more clear to me or maybe less clear?

Edited to Add (ETA)- I ended up violating my price objectives BUT got a great deal on a Taylor 810ce

A little more cut and paste:
Interesting but what I didn't say in my original post was that my youngest got interested in guitar and THAT was what finally pushed me to finally take up guitar.  I don't know, I kind of felt "dorky" wanting to start guitar at 30, then 35, then 40, and finally I did it, but really only because my son did it.  I guess the lesson is that if I hadn't started now, I may never have.  You know once we get to be adults and parents sometimes it's hard to "bare our souls" and try something completely new.  But, I try to teach my kids that life is about learning and I try to give them examples of that.  I got my MBA at 38, learned to mat and frame photos about the same time and took up guitar at 43.  The one thing I try to tell people is that if you are interested in playing you can do it by just learning CAGED and in a month or so be able to play MANY songs.  So it's never too late to start.

Maybe we should start a "Late Starters" thread?

Final details- I've been nmarried almost 22 years and have 3 kids, 18, 16, 14.  The 18 year old is off to college next year so we decided to not join our country club this year.  As I'm an avid golfer also, this will finally leave me the time to devote to guitar so "a door closes, a window opens"

I also think that it takes some time to see a guitar in more than one light.  Most of us love the playability of guitars at first.  But, then after a few years you begin to see a guitar as an individual instrument, different types of sounds from different instruments, and then you begin to see each one as a work of art.  The craftsmanship, the details, for some guitars the simplicity is the beauty (true of a lot or Martins.  Nothing fancy, that's the beauty).  A beautiful hand made guitar can leave you imagining the luthier making it with his very own hands.  Did he use power tools or was it manual.  Did he have a "plan" before he started or did he just create this beauty as the ideas came to him.  I wonder how the sawdust in his shop smelled?  I wonder how it felt to start with wood and end up with a guitar that sounds like an angel singing.  And then, to have to sell that angel that you created with you hands and the sweat on your brow.  I wonder if the greatest guitar ever made is sitting the workshop of some unknown luthier because the first time he strummed it he really did hear the angels sing and couldn't part with it?

One thing I've recently realized regarding all of these great guitars is that evaluating them and apprecaiting them are 2 completely different things.  What I mean is that I recently went through a search to find myself A guitar.  This guitar is going to be (for a while I'm sure) my only acoustic guitar.  In looking at Martin's, Gibson's, Yari's and Taylors, I was evaluting this feature, that feature (mostly sound), I liked this, didn't like that etc.  But that was because I was picking the ONE guitar that was right for me now.  Now, if were ADDING a guitar to my collection, some of the things that I thought were negatives, say the booming low end of the Martin, may now be a positive.  If I'm adding a guitar, I may want something that plays different than my Taylor.  At that time I may say "oh, I don't like those ornate hand made guitars, they're beautiful but I want something to play".  Then a few years later, I may have a little money stashed away and I may think "I've got 2 great guitars to play, I want to add one that plays nice but really is a beautiful work of art"  and all of the sudden, something that was a negative in the past becomes a positve in the future.  Many times in dicussing guitars, I may be talking about about owning and playing a single guitar while another person may be thinking of "adding" that guitar to his stable and they really are 2 VERY different things.

I got a suggestion to look at drum "thrones".  Not a term with which I was familiar but it is giving my some good ideas.  I'm thinking get something cheap and then test out some more expensive ones before I go high end!