I know when I first started to get back into comics I was scratching my head big time.
So I'll start off with my noob tips of the day:
Trade paper backs, better known as 'TPB's'. Comics are now collected into books, usually somewhere around 3-6 comics/book. You can also get them in hardcover sooner, but those are obviously more. If you want to catch up on some back issues, TPB's are the way to go imho. If your comic store doesn't have the one you are looking for in stock, chances are they'll order it for you.
Arcs! No, there isn't a flood. Arcs are storylines either within just one comic, or spanning several at one time (like the upcoming messiah complex). You can collect all the comics within one arc for a full picture. Once it stops, they start telling another arc, which builds on what they've done in the past, but they are basically stand alone. Handily, tpb's are made in 'arc's' so you get the full arc (or sometimes two of them) in one tpb.
Universes. Yeah. There is more than one. This works on that whole therory of multiple universes all at the same time. The main x-universe is refered to as earth 616. Over the years, there have been characters that have come from other universes that interact with the main one, or people from the main one travel to others. Exciles (one of the x-titles) is the one that has touched the most on this, as they hop from universe to universe trying to 'set things right'. If you are old enough to know what the hell I'm talking about - think quantum leap, but instead of in one universe and in just different times, they to whole different realities.
I'll leave it at that. Experienced people, add your wisdom. Noobs, feel free to ask questions.
Paws
