Another great post, Stache. I was going to advise the same thing. Here's my coffee drinking progression:
Couldn't stand anything coffee related
Started drinking cappuccino
Started adding coffee to cappuccino
Started adding cappuccino to coffee
Started drinking coffee with milk and sugar
Started adding only milk
And now, it's generally just straight black, though I do enjoy adding some cinnamon sometimes or milk if the coffee isn't very good. The whole process took about 3 years, though it could probably go much faster if you just made yourself start choking coffee down black. Like others have said, the key is good fresh coffee and enough of it. Coffee made from too few grounds actually tastes pretty bad, even to novice drinkers. Buying a grinder would help, but it isn't essential. As long as you avoid Folgers I would think you'd be okay.