Or just wait until 8.1 comes out in a few months.
To my understanding, 8.1 doesn't actually fix that problem (though they really want people to think that it does). With 8.1, they do put the Start button back, but all it does it bring you to the tile screen, which Microsoft considers to be the start menu for Windows 8. Modifications like Start8 give you the traditional style Start menu, while maintaining the search/archive functionality of the start menu from Vista/Windows 7.
Another bit of advice; check and double check before buying any OS to make sure that it's compatible with the hardware you're using. It shouldn't be an issue, but there are some components out there now (mostly still just in pre-built PCs/laptops at the moment) that don't have proper driver support for anything pre-Windows 8. While it wouldn't be impossible to get them working with an older OS, it may be more of a headache than it's worth.
Again, it probably won't be an issue for what you're working with, but it never hurts to double check