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Well, I happen to know a bit about bands and synthsound...though I'm not by any means an expert.

Before you buy a synthesizer, it helps to know what you want.

Do you want to create your own buzzy, bleepy sounds out of sine waves? If so, you'll probably want an analog synth with at least two oscillators.

Do you want high quality string and percussion sampled sounds? Buy a nice little keyboard/synth called a KORG N364. (I recommend this one, because I have experience with it. It's very durable, and the samples are amazing.)

And you said you were curious as to how to make sounds: Well, to make it simple, the oscillators in the synth create a simple sine wave sound. You could keep the sound as is, or you could create your own sound by turning various knobs to modulate the signal untill it sounds the way you would want it. Many modern analog/pseudo-analog synths have an on-board memory to store these sounds or PRESETS the way to have them.

Then, if you still want to make music, you'll need a way to keep the sounds you played a few minutes ago (drum beat, bass line, etc), playing on while you layer other sounds over them (bleepy sounds). This is where a SEQUENCER comes in. Many keyboards/synths come with built-in sequencers. These are normally excellent to learn the concepts with.

Is this too basic? Too advanced?
Let me know if this helps!