Newbie to the awesome audiophile world

The best advice is to read and listen on your own and avoid these kinda forums.

Second best advice is to start with gear you can buy online and return.

I made a list of well reviewed gear I figure will synergize well around the 2K mark and change.

SYSTEM 1

Bluesound Node 2i streamer
XTZ EDGE A2-300 amp
PSB Alpha T20 floorstanders
Transparent Wave speaker cables
Audioquest NRG-4 power cables
Audioquest RCA Mackenzie interconnect cables

Or go even simpler...

SYSTEM 2

Marantz pm7000n amp/streamer
QACOUSTICS 3050i floorstanders
QED Silver Anniversary XT speaker cables
Audioquest NRG-2 power cables

Any piece of gear listed that you keep will be easy to sell as you upgrade.

I recently(a year ago) decided to dedicate more time to listening to music. I was in the same predicament. I had a smallish budget and just wanted great sound. I personally love old school floor standing speakers. I found a pair of original EPI M150's for $200. I bought a Sony receiver with Bluetooth and started streaming. This is my progression over the next year:

Onkyo receiver with phono stage
Tube buffer for iPod
More expensive tube buffer for ipod
Escient music server/cd player 
Fluance rt80 turntable(gift)
Upgrade cartridge in turntable 
Complete speaker rebuild from Human speaker, new cloth ect
Rogue Audio Sphinx 2(demo $1100)
Audio engine B1 Bluetooth converter
Fluance RT85 with Ortofon Blue

The moral of my story? I could have saved money if I commited to the Rogue Sphinx right away. The speakers are very personal and they look awesome and sound like more then $200 with a $365 rebuild. I still obviously have a very modest setup at around $3000. To me it sounds awesome. I think part of the sound is seeing the progression from low end to upper low end! It is night and day from where I am now and where I started. I see myself going to an Ortofon Bronze cartridge and having the sphinx 2 upgraded to the sphinx 3. I could live with this system for a long time until I really want to blow some coin.

You could keep it simple an jump right to $1000 integrated and $1000 speakers and be happy. I think you might just miss out on the experience. 

Sorry Millercarbon.  Crazy to spend 25% of a $2000 budget on wire.  Infinitely better spent on active components at this level where another $500 can buy you big improvements.

All pretty good discussion, but at the end of the day, for $1,000 it will come down to a pretty short list of integrated amps. Mine would include:

1) NAD 368 - 80WPC, much more peak, modular upgradeability, decent phono stage, lots of awards
2) Marantz PM7000N 60WPC, Streamer, Phono, Bluetooth, WiFi, Alexa, Google Home, high build quality, high sound quality
3) Peachtree decco 125 SKY  120WPC, Small footprint, big value, Good DAC, phono stages, great streaming app, best-in-class remote. Power if you need it.
4) Arcam SA-20 80WPC British, killer DAC, looks 'high-end'
5) Rotel A12 60WPC Good reputation, good flexibility
6) Rega Brio, 50WPC, because the British like 'pace & rhythm' whatever that is, and supposedly the Brio has it.  

Sorry Millercarbon. Crazy to spend 25% of a $2000 budget on wire. Infinitely better spent on active components at this level where another $500 can buy you big improvements.

Said the guy who has never been paid to actually put together a system on a $2k budget. Easy to imagine. Different to do. I did it. Was paid for it. By a customer who told me he has lots of friends with far more expensive systems who won't believe his cost so little. Beside himself with pleasure, he is. Because the fact of the matter is $500 will buy way more performance in wire than you can ever get with a $500 component upgrade. Admittedly this is a fact you can only know by actually doing. Until then you can make up all the imaginary facts you desire. So dream on. Dream on....