Reply #19: A good place to start is...

[Speck Tater]

http://www.dharmaseed.org/

This is a HUGE collection of mp3 recorded talks from some of America's leading Buddhist teachers covering all aspects of Buddhism.

Select the "Teachers" button, and start with Jack Kornfield (36 hours worth), then Sharon Salzberg (64 hours worth), and for the REALLY detailed in-depth advanced stuff, Joseph Golstein (325 hours of recorded lectures)

For a more easy-going, beginner-oriented introduction, you'll find a lot of video lectures by famed Australian teacher Ajahn Brahm at http://www.youtube.com/user/BuddhistSocietyWA

In short, Buddhism is not something you believe in, it's something you do. Many serious Buddhists are not part of any congregation (or sangha, to use the Sanskrit/Pali word that means the same thing), but do practice daily meditation, and either attend or listen online to recordings of lessons given by well respected meditation teachers.