Music server?

[Travis Martin]

Good afternoon,

I have it in mind to put together a music server to use as my home
entertainment center. I don't wish to give any floor space to it and
envision a totally hidden system. The trouble is, I haven't done anything
quite like it before and would appreciate any pointers that any of you would
be willing to send.

I picture getting an older Mac (read: cheap) since all I want is a big hard
drive and sound outputs. If I configure it to start up with only itunes and
something like Timbuktu, I should be able to run it "headless" in a closet
with only a network connection and the sound outputs running to a power amp
and speakers. I can then control it from my Airport-equipped ibook. For that
matter, I could have a similar system in every room of the house, couldn't
I?

Any reason this won't work? What's the most cost-effective (read: cheap) way
to implement this and still have good sound and ease of use?

Thanks,

Travis