Pedal Sets

Hello all,
New user and rider here, starting on a 2006 Lemond Versailles. I'm not sure what pedal set to go with, and the dealer has been somewhat passive about selecting between clipless pedals and... clipped? pedals. My question is how important is the pedal set? (determining how much should I be looking to spend) and are any benchmarks other than personal preference for the different systems? Thanks