I agree with some of the other people in a few respects. First, if you would not mind working out with others, joining a gym would be the first thing that I would try. You would have access to a much wider variety of equipment and servcies.
HOWEVER...if you are like me, then a gym is not the way to go. There are some serious advantages to putting together a home gym, which is what I have done. Less hassles, more freedom, I don't have to wait for equipment, I don't have to leave the house to go train, I can even do laundry while working out...you get the idea. Also, for the amount of $$$ that you mentioned that you have available, you can do this quite easily.
As to what pieces of equipment that I would buy...in my opinion, free weights are the way to go, since as you stated your goal was "to lose weight and tone up". I would suggest that you start with a bench that can be set for flat/incline/decline, and some dumbbells. (I prefer the fixed weight ones, since you can just grab them and go to work...but other good options are available, such as Powerblocks, which are great for saving space, or even those that you can put wegiht plates on and off of, which are cheaper.) You can even afford to buy a rack for the dumbells as well. You can round things out with some very cheap but nice items like a balance/Swiss ball, a small floor mat, and an ab wheel. Heck...you can honestly get A LOT of stuff that will help you advance the game for yourself in your goals, with the amount of money you have budgetted.
To illustrate this point...my "~$1200" investment (over time) has gotten me... an adjustable bench & squat rack, pairs of dumbbells ranging in size from 5 lbs. to 100 lbs..two dumbbells racks, 350 lbs. of plate weights & a couple of bars for them, a power tower for doing pull-ups, chin-ups, leg lifts, & other body weight exercises, a Swiss ball, ad wheel, some medicine balls, and even some assorted kettlebells. However, I too started small and added to my equipment.
The nice thing about dumbbells is that you don't have to buy them all at once. As your strenght increases you can buy other sizes. You can later buy a barbell and some plate weights if desired...but you honestly don't have to. Many people will tell you that any weight exercise you want to do can be done with dumbbells.
Build your efforts to improve around the weights, and make them the core of your program. Cardio is important...don't neglect it...but weights are what will make the real changes. If you don't believe me, check out programs, such as "Body for Life", Tom Venuto's "Burn the Fat", or any of a dozen other ones.
Finally...a word on the Bowflex. Admittedly...any device that you actually use is better than not doing anything...but I am just not a fan of them. They do save space (sometimes), but they do not provide the same "feel" as free weights, which they honestly state. For some people like me this is an issue, for others it is not. I just like freight weights better. A true story...by best friend is a free weight advocate like me and has a small room full of free weights. Some time ago, his girlfriend wanted to tone up and lose some weight...(same goals as you) but she didn't want to use his weights...she just had to have a Bowflex of her own. I tried talking her out of it, but to no avail. Anyway...she goes out and orders the biggest one they have...then my buddy has to put it together for her...and she uses it for a couple of weeks. In the end, it gets sold, and she's using his free weights now.
Finally, whatever way you go, if you shop around, you can save some big bucks on the weights and bench. Go to a place like "Play it Again Sports". If you want, they can save you some $$ on a used Bowflex, treadmill or Powerblocks. Check out the classified ads in your local newspaper as well; there are some real bargains there on like-new stuff. Heck...maybe my buddy's girlfriend's Bowflex is still making the rounds!
Good luck!
Phil