I ran dailies for a bit to get the cash to buy a bunch of BOE epic stuff. The amount of BOE stuff you can get is insane. Run a complete set of dailies (~300g X 5 = 1500g+) and you should be able to buy 1 - 3 epics a day.

I focused gearing my tank first to def cap, but at least got the titansteel weapons for each toon. However, with the tournament weapons you could do those dailies and just get those as they are as good or better than the crafted ones. Definitely get the one for your tank if you don't have the red sword of courage.

Of course, if you want to "earn your gear" you may have to start with specific bosses and work your way up to a complete instance. For example, the first few in Gun'drak (1 in one entrance, 2 at the other entrance) or Culling of Strat.

Get all the enchants/gems you can afford too, even if they are the cheaper versions they are still a big boost.

I have a mixed group and run a dedicated healer though.

Also, keep in mind people say a lot of things that are likely to be exaggerated and/or specific to their set up.