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I do love D&D and starting out with pre-made adventures is the easiest way to begin. While the company stresses the continuing nature of the game is is perfectly possible to run a game with a set end, a fixed goal that will mark the end of the game ie. kill the dragon or save the kingdom and then everyone lives happily ever after.
As far as good systems in general to go with, GURPs is nice because of its adaptability and ease of play also the investment is a lot lower to start because you can really do everything with one book if you have the imagination and time. There are modules for all sorts of time periods, genres, books and movies but it is sometimes hard to find all the materials you want.
White Wolf makes some interesting games (Exalted, Vampire: The Requiem Werewolf: The Forsaken ect.) that are more immersive and story driven than D&D tends to be but are equally well supported at most gaming stores. they do however require quite a bit more work from the DM and a lot more home grown decision making which can slow things down and lead to problems if the players aren't mature and committed since the system requires players to self balance and is relatively easy to "break" (ie. make an over powered character)
Also the last edition of D&D (3.0-3.5) was open source so lots of different companies made games that are based off of it for example there is a game based on Lord of the Rings, Elric of Melabone, Norse mythology, The Wheel of Time, and more.
As far as board games go, Settlers of Katan is a great game as is Carcossone, and Alhambra. All are European games with a lot more interaction and thought than normal American board games.
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