I'll be moving out fairly soon, and I've never had a pet of my own. I want to get something unusual/cool. Money, unfortunately, is somewhat of an object, so answer accordingly.

A crossbreed between a Siberian Husky and a wolf!

My uncle's got one of those - I wholeheartedly agree; that is a good dog. My friend's bro in law has a shepherd/rottweiler mix, and I love that dog too. I just love a good dog, but I really hate annoying/useless ones.

This:

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p124/Arachnoholic/DSCN0403.jpg

Or, if that's not unusual/cool enough:

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p124/Arachnoholic/C_cyaneopubescens-1.jpg

Or one of the many other kickass spiders...

Whatever snake that is is definitely awesome. I would put pythons/boas under the 'costs too much' category however. I've always thought it would be cool for home defense - rig up a box for the python to sleep in at night above the front door. Somebody breaks in and BAM a couple hundred pounds of python drop on his ass : D. The colors on that spider are really interesting. What kind is it? I'm not too psyched about spiders though, because the tarantulas I've seen tend to be really lethargic.

It's standard Ball Python (Python regius).

I have no idea what these snakes cost where you live, but as a rule of thumb it's always cheaper to buy from a private breeder, and you'll get more and better info on the animal you buy.

HA-HA-HA...
Yeah, I'd pay good money to see the look on some burglars face when a couple of hundred kg's of pissed off muscles and sharp teeth land on him, he better be wearing his fast feet.

It's a Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens (just a little something for you to break your tongue on ), it's a terrestrial spider from Venezuela, the Paraguana peninsula to be precise, and it can tolerate very dry climates.
Where it was found the first time by an arachnologist called Rick West, the average temperature during the day was 35.5 °C, at night 28.0 °C, and with a constant relative air humidity of 29%, so that's about as hot and dry as it gets.
But, it should be noted though, that I know a girl who photographed one in a jungle where the temperature was a lot lower, and the RAH was a lot higher, so they don't need a dry environment, that just something most people in the hobby thinks because of R. West's reportings.

They're considered docile, but when they get spooked they often make a mad dash away from whatever spooked them, and I'd say they're fast for a terrestrial spider, but not at all a bad choice as a first spider.

They web a lot...

When they're small, the have black feet, golden carapace, pink legs, and the abdomen is striped with black and orange chevrons.
As they grow older, the orange replaces the black on the abdomen, the carapace turns metallic turquoise, and the legs as you can see turns a deep metallic blue.

Very beautiful spiders in my opinion.

I've seen them sold for $35-60 for babies. It seems the closer the pet store is to a big city the cheaper they usually are.
The costs of a terrarium & equipment depends on how fancy you want to get.
Once they get big you only have to feed them 1-2 rats every month or two, so they're inexpensive to maintain.

That's not nearly as expensive as I would have imagined. Where's a good spot to find a breeder, SHARP? Craigslist? : D

Edit: Speak of the devil - http://cosprings.craigslist.org/for/657571657.html

That's not a bad deal at all. But you'd need to do something else for heat. Balls are nocturnal so the last thing they need is a heat lamp, they need an under-tank heater.
And I can't tell if that's a hide in the back right corner or not, but you'll need 2 of those, a cold one and a hot one. You put one on one end, over the heater, and the other at the other end. They like to stay hidden during the day and if they only have one hide and it's not the right temp it can be very stressful on the snake.

I hate seeing Balls like that one that are in the completely wrong setup. Poor snake.

If I do end up getting any kind of pet, I am definitely going to consult at the length with the &T community, other online sources and a pet store owner or veterinarian. There's nothing worse than an animal that is neglected or improperly cared for.