I have seen the same prices elsewhere as well. My main question is what lens would be the first? I will shoot above water most of the time. I will have to save for the ikelite case/strobes anyway.
The "kit" from bestbuy for basically 1500 comes with an 18-105mm vr lens. Would this be suitable when I do get the housing?
No.
For your first underwater lens, get the 60mm AF-D.
(Another option is the 105mm, which is harder to use underwater and more expensive but can get slightly better images of shy creatures in very clear water).
For your second underwater lens, get the Tokina 10-17mm fisheye zoom.
(Another option is the Nikkor 10.5mm fisheye, which is more expensive and harder to use but can be a little sharper sometimes.)
(Other options are the Nikon 10-22, Nikon 12-24, Tokina 11-16 and Tokina 12-24. The Tokina 11-16 is good for above water use and is a good combo underwater and above water lens, but not as good as the Tokina 10-17 or Nikkor 10.5 underwater.)
Also, it's not very useful underwater, but do yourself a favor and get the Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 for above water use. It's one of the cheaper Nikon lenses, and is absolutely spectacular. Another good, inexpensive above water lens is the 55-200VR zoom lens.