Hello, I've really gotten into cheesemaking and have some great results so far. You certainly don't need an expensive press as I made mine out of salvaged lumber, an old scale (for pressure measurement) and a car jack. I wanted to make cheddar so I needed high pressure capability, but the three cheeses shown were all made without a press. One is a Tomme, it wasn't very tasty the first time I tried it, so I vacuum sealed it to age some more and now it tastes lovely - my best so far despite the fact it looks somewhat rock-like. I made this in a plastic basket from a chinese kitchen supply store (cost ~$1). Weight was from a ziploc of warm water. There is also a Brie shown, which was quite tasty and also needs no pressure. The last one is a honey-rubbed montasio, for which the curds were wrapped in a cloth and pressed with weights.
In all cases I used supermarket milk (Neilson 3.25% usually). For recipes the ones on
http://www.cheesemaking.com/recipes/recipedetails.html are some of the most reliable.
Most of my work has come out edible if not spectacular. Grate it over veg and no-one cares. All my failures have involved grocery store goat milk, so I think it must be bad quality (no chevre for me, although I've started making a lovely cow's milk substitute). I regularly make a triple cream soft cheese (like St. Andre) heavenly and a great gift too.
If you want something easy, why not yogurt? You can buy one at the grocery store and use it for starter. You can drain it and it makes a great spread, and it's hard to mess up. Creme fraiche, cream cheese, all of these are easy and so much better than store bought.