This is kinda funny, because I actually do have an article started about roasting at home with a popcorn popper I got at Goodwill. @biophil might have been kidding, but I'm not.
I've been doing it this way for years now. While I'd love to get a Hottop or even Gene Café, it's just so cheap to do it with the Poppery. I roasted a pound about two hours ago.
Fun post. Yes, agree - milling is very important. But if the beans area already a failure, no grind will fix it. Get good berries. Learn to roast (don't bake - if it's not reaching 400 degrees F, it's baking and can't quite get "there"). Get a good mill, whether electric or manual, and then move on to various methods of brewing.
Fun post @justinlaak. Following to get more. :)