You must do a brisket. Done right, and they are amazing. But, I totally understand your fear of screwing up a $50 piece of meat. Way too many posts here about people's first brisket being garbage. You might want to just hold off a month or so until we really get into the heart of BBQ season. I did a lot of searching a while back on the price of Brisket and found lots of people posting that they got theirs for $1.69 - $1.99/# . There were even some posts of people getting them for $0.89/# (but that was in Texas). Some of that depends on whether it is a Choice or Select, I'm sure.
Food prices are going up, so it might not be the same as last year. But, I think if you keep an eye out for a sale, you might get a better deal towards Memorial Day.
BTW, I did my first a couple of weeks ago. I read Bigabyte's tutorial a couple of time, watched Popdaddy's video's a few times, and read a few other threads. Then I seasoned it with a little Bovine Bold and a heavy coat of 50/50 kosher salt and pepper just before I lit the smoker, and cooked it for like 13 hours at 250*. No foil, no injection, nothing fancy and it came out really really good. I was very happy with the results (and I had just got back from Austin where I had some mind blowing brisket). My guests were also really impressed. Beginner's luck I guess.
Good luck. And if you want beef in the mean time, have you done a Chuck Roast yet??? Taste great, and a good way to figure out your rub flavor.