I'll address the vBulletin aspect.
It is excellent for integrating other things into it, i.e. blogs or third party freeware or shareware scripts to extend the basic functionality of the forum software.
Just remember - learn/use the template/hooks system which is built into vBulletin and intended for this purpose. Don't hack a single line of distribution code, do the entire thing through their control panel via custom templates and the hooks they provide! This is so you can upgrade vBulletin and not have to re-hack their code. Your code will be compartmentalized and added into the database so it's easy to use vBulletin functions/variables and also distribute your additions to the public independently, if desired.
For details on their template/hook system see the VB web site and explore the many topics there and download a few third party plugins.
If you are inexperienced at coding, you will find even the simplicity of the template/hook system likely confusing at first, because the vB authors use PHP scripting to write the system. So learn basic PHP.
But even novices can integrate vB into an open source content management system such as Drupal which you can use to design your overall site. Install vB as a plugin in Drupal (or Drupal as a plugin in vB, which is now available) depending on if you want vB to serve as the main template system and layout, or to be used within your own custom layout or site. You don't need to be a guru to work with plugins. Just need to read endless docs and maybe join the vB forum for help.
Have fun!
-jim