The way I first started modding was from Skydaz.com I recommend you go check it out after getting used to mods I was able to stop having to use there. Used to for me was knowing how to get rid of most mods in most situations(force updating), know what folders effected my mods and which ones I really need to keep.You can delete bin, the config folder,the mods folder and the lib folder, all red ones are if you get them and more will be mentioned later with other download methods. Keep the saves folder, the texture pack folder, the screenshots folder,the stats folder, the resources folder. Files you should keep are servers.dat, options.txt and last login although you may not have any of these files. Well if you are comfortable with mods something a little bit up from skydaz is mcpathcer this one will allow you to download HD texture packs but you will need to find the mods from different websites download them then add them I reccomend you make a folder and put all the mods you want in there and in there have folders of versions so in case you ever downgrade your minecraft you still have the mods in a different compartment. The files for this one if you want to get rid of it would be mcpatcher.xml and anything else along the lines of mcpatcher I'm sorry but I have not used that one in awhile. Now I'm ready to share with you my personal favorite mod launcher magic launcher its just like mcpatcher except you will need to download optifine for HD texture packs but some of the reasons this one is my favorite is you can open up minecraft from there and also on the homepage of it for viewing you can pick from stuff like wiki the forums some of the minecraft creators blogs so you can check the new and download mods but one more things is it makes it easier to downgrade versions because you can select which minecraft.jar you want use.
LINKS
Skydaz
www.Skydaz.com
McPatcher
http://www.minecraft...-hd-fix-243-04/
Magic Launcher
http://www.minecraft...r#entry19197471
Optifine
http://www.minecraft...e#entry19198201