Hi,
I have a recording studio and I'd like to create a website. I use a mac mini (intel). Tried the iweb program, but it's not really suited to my needs. I need help on everything:

1) selecting a good domain name
2) What kind of web host would be good for a site that will have lots of picture and music?
3) What should I reasonably expect to pay monthly for a good web host?

To give an idea of what I'm trying to create, I created a myspace:

http://www.myspace.com/blissmanproductions

HELP! I need to get this thing up and running fast!

When I click your link I get an invalid user page, so I have no idea what you want to look like.

On selecting a domain name, try to find one that expresses your website's goal. There are several domain registrars that create suggestions based on the domain name you submit (I use bravenet.com). Most people prefer shorter domain names, but not un-intuitive acronyms. It's also best to avoid dashes unless absolutely necessary. Finally, numbers in domain names should make sense.

Pictures take up a lot of space, so look for a webhost with generous storage and bandwidth allowances. I use dot5hosting.com for my sites. I think they charge @ $7 per month, billed quarterly. If you buy two years up front it works out to $4 or $5 per month. The two year package also includes one domain name for one year. They've recently added several install packages for cgi scripting, including WordPress, Joomla, php Forum. They do have an application designed specifically for pictures, as well. Since these are new, their knowledgebase and customer service haven't quite caught up, but that's typical.

One possibility is to start out on Google, then move to a webhost when you are ready. You should still buy your domain name, but you can have it point to your google-hosted site.

This is a difficult question to answer. At this point, I would take your time and do some research, since there are so many options and variables. Read message boards and see what other people are doing.

I'll tell you what I ended up doing 2 years ago, and I still feel this is the best solution for a beginner.

1. Register a domain name through godaddy, but not web hosting.
2. Get web hosting from Hostgator.
3. Use fantastico (comes with hostgator accounts) to install wordpress.

Hostgator gives you unlimited disk space and bandwidth for about $10 a month.
Using wordpress makes it easy to change your web site's look (theme) and customize it. It's also very easy to post pictures and video.

Hope that helps.

selecting a good domain name

For seo purposes, it is often helpful to try to include keywords in your domain name. Research which keywords are most often searched for using https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal
Alternatively, choose a very unique company name that does not have much competition in the serps - that way you don't have to spend time optimising for your company name..

A good web host should cost you $5-10 a month.

A good domain name is a short and logical one.

All this info is in my guide, in my sig. Have a look if you're interested.

A good web host should cost you $5-10 a month.

I would dis-agree with this statement,

Many web hosting providers oversell and dont provide many resources.

If you get a lot of traffic or have a spike in traffic you also may not be able to access your website or access it quickly.

The average website user is on a website for only a few seconds and they will simply hit the back page if they dont see a web page.

VPS and Dedicated are better ways to go once your website is going with traffic.

The average cost of a VPS or Dedicated can run $20 on the very low end to more than a few hundred dollars a month.

If you are in such a hurry, create a blog. Go to wordpress.com and create one. It has many advantages:
1-blogs are well accepted by google;
2-you can choose suitable name for your site - without paying for it;
3-no need to pay for host service - at least for now.

No matter what you choose, it is very important to let people know about your site. Submit to search engines, directories, social bookmarks, etc.