I've been smoking with a BGE for a little over two years now. I went with a BGE because I have an excellent local hardware store that stocks just about everything. Super convenient if I need to pick up any accessories or I want to see something before I buy. The store previously stocked Kamado Joe, but was in the process of changing their product lines just about the time I purchased.
Speaking of accessories, if you're going to be doing any type of smoking, buy a BBQ Guru or Flame Boss temperature controller. It makes temp control a total no-brainer. Doing a brisket, I'll walk away from mine for 16 hours and it'll hold 225 degrees like a rock. They are worth every dollar.
You'll want to stick with lump charcoal; Regular charcoal briquettes make too much ash. I typically use the little waxed cardboard starters. They work well if it's not windy. If it is windy, a little help from a propane torch gets things going.
I'll second the Amazing Ribs recommendation. Meathead cuts through a lot of the manure that people pass off as gospel. I'm not too keen on the product reviews anymore though. It's just coincidence, but Amazing Ribs has the Kamado Joe Classic II on their "Pitmaster Award" list, which is their list of best value. Their reviewer never actually cooked on one. The pictures from the "review" are straight from the Komado Joe website, as is all the description. I know it's a good product, but a little disingenuous to glowingly recommend it having never actually cooked on it (or even had one available for photos). Then there are things like the $2,000 Weber Summit kettle grill that received a gold star (the sites highest rating), despite being laughably expensive and having temperature control issues: It was unable to maintain 225° ("It ran a little hot, at one point reaching 260°"). Weber graciously provided one for review though.