I learned to stop worrying and bought a full-auto machine: I put whole grains in it and coffee comes out. And as a bonus it's cheaper than, say, Nespresso-style capsules (ultra expensive) or drip coffee (if you buy grounded coffee, it's pricier than whole grains).
Neighbor has got the whole professional machine at its place and making coffee is a long ritual for him: it's good if you like to obsess over that kind of thing.
But full-auto coffee machine is easy peasy and I'd say it's 99% of the result (especially with quality grains).