Reply to Question on equipment/controllers?

Ok Im a newbie to Dj'ing..I love the whole digital dj and controllers..I dont have any setup..to start off and practice should I go with a controller or should I get a couple of cheap cd decks and mixer? Oh and do you all have any reviews on the stanton scs3? Isnt the stanton scs3 similar to the vci-100/300 controller? Any advice/help/or thoughts on this would greatly be appreciated..Thanks