Mmmmm Coffee... one of my favourite subjects!
A few quick tips:
1. If you are only making coffee for yourself, I've found that the Aeropress is an amazing solution - it makes smooth, full bodied coffee, and is pretty convenient and cheap. A big strong point of the Aeropress is that it works well with almost any beans - light roast, dark roast, blends, etc. By playing around with the method used, grind size, and amount of time in the Aeropress you can get good results with any roast.
http://aerobie.com/products/aeropress.htm2. Good job on grinding just before you prepare the coffee - has a large impact on flavour. For grinding, I found that a burr grinder made a huge difference - I'm surprised you got bad results. What where the issues you experienced with the burr grinder? Generally, a burr grinder should give you much better consistency in your grind (all particles being the same size) and the ability to set grind size based on the method you are using. I've got a Krupps GVX2 - got it for free and so far I've been happy. This is a very similar model:
http://www.amazon.com/KRUPS-Grinder-Selection-Stainless-Conical/dp/B0001I9R8W3. Water temperature makes a big difference - I bought a cheap kettle with a temperature control, and it's great.
4. Using the appropriate grind size for the preparation method you are using is important - you can google around to see what people suggest, and then experiment. For example, I prefer using a finer grind size on the Aeropress than most people suggest online.
5. Beans definitely loose flavour over time - I try to use within about 2 weeks of purchase.
Otherwise, in my experience different beans have the best brought out of them by different preparation methods. There are some espresso beans I love that come out beautifully in the Aeropress but sub-par in a chemex, while I have a lighter, more "fruity" roast that tastes great using a Chemex, but horrible in a french press. So don't let one bad experience put you off a specific method or bean - you need to play around.
Going beyond the Aeropress, the following are all good "manual" options that I have played around with:
- French Press - best way to make good coffee for larger groups, but I prefer other methods for a single person (Mocha Pot or Aeropress). However, this is down to personal taste - really depends on the beans you prefer.
- Mocha Pot - best way to get "espresso" without a machine. Makes amazing coffee, but quite a bit of work and only suitable for dark roasts. For lighter roasts, you end up without much flavour clarity.
- Chemex - makes *amazing* coffee with beans that suit it, but best suited to light roasts. Quite an expensive & fragile device, and the preparation process can be a bit annoying.
Hope that helps!