I'm just a baby

I haven't been playing electric guitar for long... and I'm discovering all these "other" things that go along with getting the perfect sound... EFFECTS: What's true bypass? How do you know where to put the pedal in your line up? If you have one effect... do you need another as a counter? There are 30 different pedals for one effect... how do you know which brand makes the best of that effect? I know alot of this you just learn by expirimentaiton... but it annoys me that I don't fully understand it... any insight would be great

My advice?
1- stick with well known brand names. Boss, MXR, Digitech, Ibanez, Dunlop, Ernie Ball, to name a few.
2-True bypass? When you chain a lot of effects together they can color your sound or rob high end or low frequency even when turned off. True bypass basically bypasses the circuit and makes the pedal essentially sound like it's not there when it's turned off, avoiding this. That said, I run about 9 different pedals, none of which to my knowledge are true bypass. I don't have a problem with my tone(when I started playing no one knew about true bypass). My advice on this starting out is, if you're not running more than 3-4 pedals, don't worry about it.
3- How do you know which brand makes the best particular effect? Everybody will have a different opinion on that. Try as many as you can and buy the one you like/can afford.
4-do you need one effect to counter another? No.
As for pedal order, start here http://www.guitarplayer.com/pop-up.aspx?content_id=84734 but ultimately, use your ears. For example, i put my volume pedal first in the chain, not where they recommend in the link. I like it first because it acts just like the volume knob on my guitar; when I turn it down the amp "cleans up", when I open 'er up I get my dirt back. I don't use a volume pedal as a volume boost. I have that built into my amp, or alternately, use an eq pedal for that.

When you're thinking about buying an effect pedal, go to one of the big online music distributors and see if they have sound samples - they won't sound exactly the same in your setup, but it will give you an idea what they can do. Also, do a search on your favorite guitarists gear, and you should find a couple of sites that show you what pedals/amps they use and the order placement. Here's how I place my effects: guitar > volume > compressor > overdrive/distortion > delay > amp.
As for which brand to buy - go to harmony-central.com and read user reviews. If 50% of the buyers hated a pedal or had problems with it, there's your answer.