Can someone help de-mistify the classes for me and explain what importance my soul level will have, how important the starting equipment will be, and starting stats like luck... Any help would be greatly appreciated and any tips or words of wisdom would be great.

Class isn't all too important in Demon's Souls, since the best way to play is by putting a little bit of your experience into all stats.
 
Personally, I went with the Knight, since he starts out with some decent weapons and a shield. If you go with the knight though, make sure you ditch the armor you start out with as soon as you get something lighter. Being able to move and dodge quickly is more important than having a strong defense stat.

I liked Thief the most, but it doesn't really matter.

well, there's a wiki you know... you can find anything you want there.
 
That said, if you want a easier start pick the Royalty class, you'll start with a good spell and a ring that regenerates mana, I like starting with the hunter because you'll have full leather armor, and it gives you a decent protection while maintaining full mobility, and that's key, being able to  roll freely is a million times more important then heavy armor, also your starting soul level doesn't mean anything, you can spec your character any way you want after the first boss.

I think I went for Knight but there is a class very simliar that gives you a small healing spell as well. Temple Knight or something like that.... Check the descriptions and you'll see.

Depends on what kind of character you want to play - usually, Temple Knight or Royal (which starts with Soul Arrow, a useful goddamn spell) are good places to start.

Overall Royal and erm... Templar are the best I think. 
 
Royal is good because it starts at level 1, giving you more options to put your stats into. And they get a mana generating ring which is nice in the beginning. The starting gear isn't great, but it's easy to find replacements (Especially female characters). 
 
Templar (Edit: I meant Temple Knight.. But close enough) is great because it has decent gear and a healing spell in the beginning.

" Class isn't all too important in Demon's Souls, since the best way to play is by putting a little bit of your experience into all stats.  Personally, I went with the Knight, since he starts out with some decent weapons and a shield. If you go with the knight though, make sure you ditch the armor you start out with as soon as you get something lighter. Being able to move and dodge quickly is more important than having a strong defense stat. "

" well, there's a wiki you know... you can find anything you want there.  That said, if you want a easier start pick the Royalty class, you'll start with a good spell and a ring that regenerates mana, I like starting with the hunter because you'll have full leather armor, and it gives you a decent protection while maintaining full mobility, and that's key, being able to  roll freely is a million times more important then heavy armor, also your starting soul level doesn't mean anything, you can spec your character any way you want after the first boss. "

Royalty is the easiest to start with.

I recommend the Temple Knight class.  I feel it's a good class for beginners because it has a strong defense, great armor, and it starts off with everything you need to use miracles (healing spells) right away.  Also, the halberd is a badass weapon.

Don't worry too much about what class you're going to start with, since you'll be able to take the character in whatever direction you choose once you start leveling up.

Thanks for the quick responses. Its good to know that I'll be able to spec however I want, so now I don't have to stress about which one I choose... I'm still not totally sure yet, I just tried a bit of it as the Royal class and I can already see how extremely useful that starting spell is, but I really want to get in and do some hack n slash. The Hunter sounds appealing with a mix of ranged and melee potential, plus the leather armor seems like a good starting set... I'll figure it out i guess... Thanks for the comments, keep posting any other thoughts on the subject since i'm still open to suggestion. Any other stuff I need to know would be cool to, since I don't plan to look at any guides or wiki info. 

I started out with a hunter and had a blast. A good bow is essential in DS, so make that one of your top priorities and picking the Hunter will help you start out getting used to it. Although, class doesn't really matter after you gain a few levels.

 Royal is the only way to play

Temple Knight or Royalty are the best starting classes. 
 
 Avoid Thief because luck is useless and a waste of soul levels. 

What effect does the luck stat have exactly? Is it just item drop chance or does it change your encounters in the game at all?

" What effect does the luck stat have exactly? Is it just item drop chance or does it change your encounters in the game at all? "