Which Version is Easier To Modify?

[superman7515]

So I am strongly leaning towards purchasing vBulletin to upgrade a forum I've been operating for a year. I've seen some really awesome sites using vBulletin like motorcycle.com and girlsgetgoing.com and, while that is waaay beyond my scope and wallet, I would like to do something similar in that I do not want my website to be only a message board, I would just like the message board to be one section of the overall site. I have been posting and helping out as an admin on a vBulletin college football site that is strictly a message board, so I'm familiar with some of the basic behind the scenes things of version 4, but only basic things so I have no pre-possessed attachment to the back end of 3 vs 4 vs 5. Like everyone else, I have seen the considerable bashing of version 5, so I'm obviously nervous about the purchase and which version to go with at install.

My biggest question is which version is easier to modify for a newb? For example, as I said, my main goal is that I don't want it to be a site where you log on and there is just a giant page of the message board. I'd like a home page, tab for photos or whatever the heck I decide to put on there, etc. The page I've actually had experience with is www.anygivensaturday.com and I'm assuming it is pretty basic. If I just purchased vBulletin and installed it, is this the default way it would appear (not necessarily the theme colors and such, but just a single page with a message board)? Thanks for any advice you can give, just trying to figure out which path to go down before I start down it.