I'm thinking of picking up one of the old school RGPs on here, like Might and Magic or Arkania. Anyone have a suggestion as to which one I should get? And no, I don't have time nor money to get all... I used to love Lands of Lore when I was younger (I also love Baldurs, Planescape, etc.) I would assume that Lands of Lore was a little simpler than the ones on this site, but I liked the story/adventure side of it and aren't scared off by complexity. any suggestions on which one I should pick up?

Fallout is decent, never played the others...

Fallout 2.
Give me a kiss to build a dream on, and my imagination, will feed my hungry heart......

Can't go wrong with the Fallouts or Might and Magic series...

That depends on how old-school you want it. Fallout and Fallout 2 are in the top tier of the more modern dialogue / sidequest / develop-your-personality form of RPG. If you want to go back further, though, the Might & Magic seven-piece collection is awesome, and well worth the price just for 3-5.

How about the Ishar games?
Properly tough though, and I found it helps to have a pen and notepad...

I'd definitely go with M&M or Arkania over Ishar.

Fallout 1 (2 may be the better game, but not by too much, and you can start at the beginning of the story, then again it wouldn't hurt to go right into 2 if you're really tight on time.)
If you're REALLY set on a "fantasy" RPG rather than a post apocalyptic one, I'd get the M&M series and start with Worlds of Xeen (4 and 5 combined into one game).

God damn it, buy Fallout already. Hell, buy all of them. NOW.

Especially with the impending lawsuit.
Fallout 2 is the prototypical cRPG, so it's a good game to have just as the representative of a genre.
On a side note, what's the difference between MIGHT and Magic and HEROES of Might and Magic?

HoMM is kind of a strategy game.

First, buy Fallout 1 and 2. Then if you still have money left over, get either Realms of Arkania or M&M. I would recommend RoA over M&M though, if only because I've never played much of M&M before

I'd go for Fallout 1&2 first. Then either Might and Magic® 6-pack: Limited Edition or Ishtar compilation.
Also while not quite 'old school', Gothic 1&2 are highly recommended so if you haven't played them yet, you should get them at some point.

Fallout 1 & 2 for old RPGness.
Might and Magic (6 LE pack), for some* (*a massive amount of) real old school RPG dungeon crawling.