Can someone please let me know the easiest way to start mining! And how much can really be made?
Sorry to break the news to you. But "easy" mining is far from profitable. You have to invest in special hardware and acquire a decent understanding of the process for it to become profitable.
But if you just want to play around, download e.g. guiminer, setup an account at one of the major mining pools and use the hardware you have available (GPU). Know that you're likely end up paying more for the electricity than the bitcoins are worth though.
http://www.weusecoins.com/mining-guide.php
^This
or if you are really serious about mining in the future I would suggest you to get one of these: http://www.butterflylabs.com/
Cheers.
