I second getting the TI Launchpad. Great and super-cheap piece of kit
With Energia (http://energia.nu/) you can even use your Arduino sketches and run them on MSP430 Launchpad!
Just googled it and lots of articles say they are $4-$5 but where you can buy them, they appear to be $9.99 now. I wonder if they bumped up the price recently.
Wasn't there a preorder that had the new ones (32bit) for 5$? Wish I'd have gotten in on that thing. Maybe that's causing a little confusion on the pricing here.
Edit:When talking about TI, i thought I'd share this subsite by TI (http://tideals.com/) for anyone who isn't savy on it yet. They don't have a deal right now though.
You'll have to use strict C and use breakouts and your own breadboard/components, but it's cheap enough to be disposable for hobbyists.