Ugg..eww...gross.....Aardvark USB is not something you want to get at all...performance is terrible as well as configuration..Roland unit is Edirol and those are garbage as well...
If you want to go USB go with the Tascam US428..you can't beat it for price, functionality, performance etc etc etc...trust me on this one. I've been down this road and many others have gotten the 428 and love it.
Opus

thanks a lot opus!
i dont necessarily want usb. what is another starter option?

how many ins and outs do you need? Are you looking to expand into more ins and outs? Give us more information as to what you want...personally any audio card will probably sound better than a soundblabber..those are generic low grade converters with a high noise floor level..look into http://
Opus