Im an alien/universe/paranormal freak and was looking to buy a telescope to check out the awesome universe and some planets and starts and such. Ive never owned a telescope but I once saw saturn in a friend of mines telescope when I was younger and thought it was awesome. His seemed to be just a basic $100 telescope and it had a decent view of Saturn as I remember it but nothing like what hubble can see. Anyways Im wondering what features I should consider on buying a telescope that isnt too complicated but can still offer a lot once I get used to using it. Id like to buy a $250-$300 one but we shall see what my tax return allows me. If you think it best that I get a cheap one to start off with then I will consider it but I really want to see the furthest I can for that kind of budget. Thanks!

ComputrNerd, telescopes are not like sweaters.: You buy a cheap one, and then replace it with a better one and the you buy another better one and so on....

You should save some money to buy a great (not literally) telescope, whic you are going to keep for a loooong time! Because when it comes down to it, after all those explorations, that money would be really worth it. So be careful, don't rush!
Consider all your options and make sure you do a "Pros and Cons" chart before you make your move.

At least that'* what I would do.

for 300$ you can buy a decent scope. are you more focused on this galaxy, or systems that are far away?

More focused on this galaxy and more importantly the solar system. I was looking at a star yesterday and I could almost see the shape of it clearly so I thought it might be a planet and thought it would be really cool if I could see it up close. Are there any telescopes that I could like hook up to my computer for further functionality or to maybe like upload some maps to it because I understand that some of them have a feature that automatically points to certains stars or something.