For anyone new to these series
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_Box
And as for emulation i would stick to the Amiga for the earlier titles i have said this before but i cannot overstate that either while these games did not rely that much on sound and music you dont want pc speaker sounds either.
But later titles should sound and look on par or better than the amiga verisons.
For a good beginning game i recommend Champions of Krynn because it's easier to get into rather than Pool of Radiance. For example your party starts at level 2 which may not sound important but level 1 ad&d characters can and will die very easily.
It lets you modify your stats originally intended so you could have the same stats as your favorite pen and paper characters but mostly used to give yourself 18 in all attributes.
It may sound like cheating but you will need all the bonuses to hit and ac you can get to have a chance in the beginning.
During camp you can use the option FIX to automatically heal the party what this does is make the clerics memorize and cast healing spells on the party automatically until everyone is at full health. Instead of doing it manually and it is much more convenient.
And at last it is not overly confusing at the beginning instead of a big town to wander through your beginning place is a outpost presented by a single screen where you can get to the armory,inn and the tavern all at the same time. While it may sound like it robs you off exploring the outpost i'd rather say it just gives you the chance to prepare for adventure more quickly.
