Still Breathing

So I'm pondering dipping my toe into the big, scary world of online databases ... though it's entirely possible that I'll chicken out when I see just how nasty they are. As a result of this foolhardy notion I was hoping that you, gentle reader, could suggest a database that might be a useful place to start. I've had a brief look at MySQL but the community version looks aimed at database developers as opposed to someone like me; and the network version is beyond my price range at the moment.

Furthermore I had decided to use php (well, I was thinking of maybe learning a bit of php anyway) as opposed to asp or vbscript to call the database from a website . From what I've seen, php looks more 'dullard-friendly' ... is this a wise decision? What reasons are there for avoiding php?

Hmm, the more I write, the more I think that maybe I should do this the old-fashioned way with very long pages of html.