My suggestion for a good smoker to start with is
this el cheapo WalMart version.
The legs won't get loose, you will have good control over the oxygen, it is cheap, and it will last you a long time. Mine is at least 10 years old. I just throw a layer of high heat paint on it every few years to keep the rust slightly at bay.
I actually use it more than my
Backwoods Fatboy, which is just too big for most of the smoking I do anymore.
The last time I was in Memphis (2005), the team I was on won the People's Choice award at the Memphis in May Barbecue contest. (Gotta toot that horn when I get a chance.) While a fancy smoker is really nice and makes cooking easier, barbecue really is one of those things where it is a poor carpenter that blames his tools.
The type of charcoal your friend spoke of was lump charcoal. It looks like preburned wood. I use the lump I get at my local Menard's, and don't have a brand preference. I do like to throw a couple of sticks of hickory or oak into the firebox from time to time just to get a good smoke.
One last piece of advice is that you should do everything in your power to keep from completely closing off the smokestack if you end up with a smoker like the above. Closing it too much will add to the creosote you end up with on your meat.