I don't know if you have GameStop by you, but they have EQ Evolutions for $30. If you're going to start playing EQ you might as well start with this. It has Original EQ plus ALL of the expansions up to and including Planes of Power. With the most recent patch, the Plane of Knowlege is accessible to everyone now (used to have to own Planes of Power to use this zone), so PoP isn't necessary for the low-level characters, except for the travel that it offers to noobs, since you'll be using the PoK Books about 90% of the time with the Luclin Spires being the other 10%.
But for $30 (or $25 where some of you have seen it) you get pretty much the whole game, including the Legacy of Ykesha expansion, which introduced the Froglok as a playable race, as well as some added bank features and an in-game map. The only other expansion you would need is LDoN, but not until one of your characters reaches level 20.
EQ Evolutions is the best package of EQ w/expansions for the new player. It gives the most options for the best price. You are essentially paying around $5 per expansion (including Original).
You should consider that a REALLY good price, seeing how all of the EQ veterans paid around $15-30 for EACH expansion when it was released.
Not a bad price for the best MMORPG. Figure it this way:
EQ Evolutions = $30 (rounding high)
EQ Game Card = $45 (3month)
Total = $75 <--- 4 months of EQ time with MOST of the available expansions from the get-go