Hey there,
I will absolutely not claim to be an expert, but as someone who just got back into brewing after many years away, I recently went through this type of question and discovery. I will say that I started again in early March, and now, after 7 batches, am doing almost all Partial Mashes with DME.
My first two batches were with LME. I had the same question as you and then switched to DME. My beers improved, less of a twang. I would encourage you to move to Partial Mash sometime soon, as you will get even a greater improvement, but until then.....
I would suggest DME. And only use Xtra-light. Steep specialty grains for your flavor or color, unless you are brewing a really dark beer or a stronger amber beer (like an old ale). I find that DME is more consistant, easier to work with and provides less "twang".
Where I live, I have access to two types of DME, mainly. Briess and Muntons. Both are great and fresh where I buy. (Midwest Supplies). LME's are a little less reliable in my mind if you are looking for consistency, but my main issue is getting all the syrup out. It is just much easier to stir in DME powder, and I can be really exact in my target OG's.
They are also eaier to store. I bought a 33 pound bucket from the store and keep it tight and sealed in my storeroom (basement mechanical room). It was much cheaper this way. For an extract brew with steeping grains, you can expect to use around 6 pounds of DME per batch this way, some less some more depending on the style.
To date - my favorite, and the absolute favorte of everyone who has tried my beers, is a DME based Strong Ale. Even SWMBO loves it. She is a fan of ESB's, and loves a PM ESB that I made for her, but the DME based Strong Ale is awesome.
Hope that helps a bit... I would be willing to answer anything I can since I was just recently looking for the same info as you.
Cheer,
Broc
