Well, I have a masters degree, and I am trying to get a PHD. I think when thinking about synths and how best to use them, you have to break them down into their various categories. So you have subtractive synths, these are the easiest to master and once you have a good grounding in subtractive synthesis it becomes easier to master the rest. The Z3TA is a subtractive synth but it has a lot extra features, so I would suggest a Moog emulation to start with because it's a basic subtractive synth and if you think about how many classic recordings it's been featured on it's really all you need if you are a band looking for a synth sound.
The next category of synthesis is wavetable, the most famous wavetable synth is the prophet 5. This synth is pretty much the same as subtractive synthesis, the difference is rather than using an analogue oscillator to generate your sine wave or square wave, it uses a very small sample called a wavetable. Rapture is an example of wavetable synthesis, again though it is a very complex version of it. The 80's synth sound, is made up of wavetable synthesis.
The next form of synthesis is digital, and again it is a huge part of that 80's sound. The most famous synth of that era is the DX7. This time instead of a oscillator or wavetable to generate your sound, it uses DSP or digital signal processing. Cakewalk don't have a digital synth. It also is harder to use and get a usable sound out of. So if you are a beginner steer clear.
Next is additive synthesis, as name suggests its the opposite of subtractive. Again it's harder to use than wavetable and subtractive. And it's not very common. I've only used one a few times.
Then there is granular which use a very small sample, a grain to create it's sound. At the moment there are very few of these in VST form, Cubase have just released one called Padshop. I've used it but it's quite difficult to get a sound out of. But its good for soundscapes. If you like King Crimson, Fripp uses one albeit hooked into a guitar synth to create funnily enough his Soundscapes off a lot his 90's work and beyond. Again avoid if you are a beginner.
Finally there are rompler style synths. These are similar to wavetable but have less control over their actual sample but tend to have synth controls. Dimension Pro is an example of this style of synth.
There are of course modular synths too, but avoid unless you really want to get a PHD. I've used these and have built a few, basically depending on what brand you are using you could make any type of the above synth using a modular.
And there are of course instruments like the Mellotron which is really a rompler, not in its hardware form but def in its virtual form.
I think that covers synthesis.
Ben