I would agree with this: go straight to a distributed version control system if you have never used any version control before. The SAAS version control services make it very easy to use these days, even given the complexity of the internal workings. A non-distributed version control system would be more suitable for a team of one, where there is no negotiation needed between team members about who can commit and when.

This article describes practical workflow model, and shows how it works visually in a way that none of the help pages does. It is well worth all team members having a read before first using git:

http://nvie.com/posts/a-successful-git-branching-model/

I have the poster printed out and stuck over my desk – it is very handy. I’ve used distributed control system for over ten years now – bitkeeper, monotone, git – and never looked back.