For just getting started, these are the things[/url] that I immediately look at for a plan. Yeah, there are tons more details, but this is the starting point. I did a presentation on this at the PASS Summit and it's available here.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt
Author of:
SQL Server Execution Plans
SQL Server Query Performance Tuning