I'm a fan of the sleeveless too.  My first wetsuit was from Neosport, it's affordable and gets the job done for beginners.  Once I progressed a little further, I sold the Neosport on craigslist, and used the money to upgrade.  But now I get ads for Xterra suits for $99, soooo you could start there too.

Sleeves, or no sleeves, the eternal question.

Personally, I use a sleeveless wetsuit and I also cut short the legs to it's really a short john.  Why?  I race in the Midwest in lakes that are generally in the low 70s or flirting with the wetsuit legal temperature cut off.  I'm a pretty streong swimmer so it's only to add some bouyancy.

You'll get some arguments that you can "grip" the water better in a full suit, but I don't think that's a huge factor.

I think it comes down to where you race and in what water temps, and also what you're comfortable in.  If I was only going to buy one wetsuit, have it for 3-4 years, and plan to race in multiple geographic areas, I'd definitely get a full suit.  They're a pain to get into, but there are plenty of simple tricks to get out of them.  Just check on YouTube if that's the direction you take.

There isn't a correct answer, just an answer that's right for you.