[ranger danger]

First off, you said you want to keep it simple. Stay away from Kenwood stereo's! They are the most complicated units on the market even though they work well (it takes me 20 min. to change the clock on mine!). Id be looking at a Pioneer for around $150 to $200 with an auxiliary input in the front, that way you can listen to stuff on your phone or other storage device (make sure its compatible with the opperating system on your phone, android, Iphone, etc). Pioneer's are also known for good radio reception. Thats a good thing in Texas! You don't really need an amp unless you like your tunes LOUD!! The deck power will work just fine. You can add an amp later if you decide you need one. Spend your extra money on good speakers. Look into some Polk Audio 6x9's. You wont break the bank and they will still sound nice. Finally, go to your local Best Buy or Stereo shop and let them install it for you. That way they can do the settings on the unit that most people don't know exist (speaker size, eq settings, Loud, etc) and couldn't set them right even if they did. Good luck and happy listening!!

Edit: If you have factory speaker openings in your dash, you could put some decent speakers in there as well.