well I was taking the piss a bit!!! - most people claim they've spent a long time researching - when it is obvious that they haven't - or at least they have been researching in the wrong places - 6 months looking at videos of tiny focused cases that are one patch wonders - does not equal adequate research!!!
I always try and look as far ahead as possible for what modules I may want - so that if I buy/build a vca (or mixer or any other utility) I get one that is big enough for future requirements - which is why I recommend a quad cascading vca to beginners - but no harm in a smaller one - just my advice, which you can take or leave as you see fit - but do take a look at the "Jim and Lugia were right thread"!!!
as I probably stated above just get a few modules to start with and grow slowly - a sound source, a sound modifier, a modulation source, a way to play, a way to listen and a case
Marbles is great I use it in every patch near enough - currently with a branches attached to t2 (for skip/open/close hats) and a sinfonion as an extra external quantizer for the x section (not that you need a quantizer - as Marbles has 3 already) - if you like generative music then this is a great place to start
"some of the best base-level info to remember can be found in Jim's sigfile" @Lugia
Utility modules are the dull polish that makes the shiny modules actually shine!!!
sound sources < sound modifiers < modulation sources < utilities