Question about first receiver?

[W3sTC0astCA]

Hey guys,

Been doing a lot of reading around the forums and really wanted to start building my first surround sound set-up. I would think I should start with a good receiver and I've seen that a lot people like Denon, Onkyo, and Pioneer's.

Currently I have a Yamaha, but I'm pretty sure it's too old to even be capable of 5.1 or anything. My question to you all is which receiver(s) should I check out based on your guys experience. Being my first "real" receiver, I want to be able to know how to actually use all the features and such, so nothing too high tech. I was thinking nothing more than $900-1,000, maybe less, for now until I get the hang of things later down the road.

Still trying to read about speakers, wires, wiring, connections and things. Very interesting and intelligent folks at this forum. Any help and recommendations will be appreciated. Thanks to all in advance.

(BTW - I really like the look of Denon's and Pioneers)