Glad to hear you're getting there......even if it is slowly!
So far as getting a new CD / DVD Drive......there are currently LOADS around for a very reasonable price too! ( I'm talking about the UK, but I guess its the same in most places)
I picked up my Emprex 16 X DVD-RW around 6 months ago, for the incredibly low price of £35 (about $60, I think), from my local Discount PC Harware Shop. (Its actually a small retail shop belonging to a former major PC Manufacturer in UK).
I'm sure I've seen lots of similar deals in the big chain stores (PC World etc) for not much more......but you CAN pay anything right up to around £200 for a state-of-the-art model!
Any basic CD /DVD-RW drive will do most jobs that you need, and with most you also get a decent Software Package too, which should give you Burning software and possibly other handy progs.
Hope this helps, and good luck!
(btw....a plain old CD / DVD Conbo drive, without re-writer, will only set you back around half the above prices, if that!)
Regards