Newbie hardware: Block Erupter OK?

[TimInOhio]

I'm a newbie and just getting started.  To get my feet wet, I was thinking about buying a couple Block Erupters (and a powered hub) to get started.  BUT, I saw a couple reviews that say that the Block Erupter is already outdated and will never be able to generate an appropriate ROI based on current difficulty (and future projected difficulty).  Is the Block Erupter still viable, or is there a better entry-level (read: cheap) hardware solution?

Thanks in advance.

Tim