I have a Manfrotto 055XPROB with the following heads;
808RC4 (3 way)
496RC2 (Ballhead)
303SPH (Multi-row pano)
If you've only going to buy one head then a ball head is probably the best bet, very flexible but generally doesn't off the precision / fine tuning of a 3 way
You should be able to find deals on the Manfrotto + head deals.
Redsnapper are a very good value alternative
Have a read through
http://www.bythom.com/support.htm and consider if it's worth paying the extra for something that you can grow with.