I'd like to second what bluesdawg wrote. Until I'd been riding for a while I really had no idea what it was I really wanted.
In the current market there are almost NO bad road bikes. All the junk is in other categories. You can find great bikes in the $500-$1000 range that will let you get out there and find out what you really want to do with a bike. Once you you know that you can flip your first bike and get half or more of what you paid for it back, or keep it. You can never have too many bikes
That being said, I also second the recommendations to shop based on FIT and SERVICE. As far as fit goes top tube length is the most critical thing in getting a good fit. Its easier to fudge seat tube length than anything else but it is the traditional metric. You can tweak stem length and seat position to change the reach but changing those has other ramifications.