I think you might find the older games harder to play after the stylish controls of Resident Evil 5. (Resident Evil 4 won't be a huge jump, mind, but all of the games pre-dating that are relics, certainly.)
Since the original was remade for the Gamecube and the sequels (that is, 2 and 3) were ported from their home on the original Playstation, not to mention Resident Evil 4 and 0 are both Gamecube games by nature, you're pretty well set to experience the entire series from the beginning, since the Wii can play Gamecube discs.
HOWEVER, if you'd like a Sparknotes version of the Resident Evil franchise, the Wii has Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles, a rail-shooter that follows the plot of the original game, some of Resident Evil 0, and some of Resident Evil 3. A sequel to that game is on the way, which will follow the plot of Resident Evil 2. Because of the gap in game mechanics (and the level to which the older games are highly inaccessible), this may be a more feasible option, since the older, more stilted games are a bit more difficult.
Resident Evil 4 and 0 are standalone titles you'll probably need to purchase regardless. At least 4 is. The plot of 0 is negligible, and you can catch up on it through the files found in Resident Evil 5 without a whole lot missing.
On a final note (I'm trying really hard not to post a wall of text, but this is a great topic, I think), if you do choose to nab either the REmake or one of the ported sequels, do note that the trick to catching all of the story's minutia lies within finding the documents strewn about the environment. Resident Evil 5 had files you'd find that seemed, for the most part, relatively irrelevant to the immediate plot, but they did a lot to fill in some of the narrative's gaps. This is a staple of the franchise, and you should expect to do a lot of hunting to connect the dots.
Then again, some of the more dedicated Resident Evil fans have put together a hyper-extensive Resident Evil wiki that will serve to guide you if you're lost or if things aren't quite clear (which is often the case in the Resident Evil games). Though, reading a wiki pales in comparison to experiencing the franchise in medias res, as it were, through the eyes of the characters involved.
Ultimately, the must-buy games, if you're dead set on playing them, are 1 (REmake or otherwise), 2, 4, and 5. 3 is connected, obviously, but very little happens in that plot. That's not to say nothing significant happens in that plot, but it is to say much of that ten-to-twelve hour venture is simple padding and fruitless exposition.
If you have any further questions, you should totally hit me up in a personal message, because, as you can see, I'm kind of a nut for this stuff.
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