We have a local store that roasts their own flavored coffes, the beans we buy are usually just a few days, if that, old. Very good price too, believe it's $7 a lb or something.

A burr grinder is the way to go. It requires cleaning every no and then, but you can usually find them refruib for $20 or $25.

Though we just switched to a coffee pot with a blade grinder in it (it grinds then brews right after) and the wife, who is the coffee drinker, says there isn't much of a difference. They use a screen so that the coffee gets bounced out at the right size, it's not ground to a powder or too big.

The entire pot cost about as much as the burr grinder we were replacing cost.