Playing machinist made me realize how much I hate bard now. And while I still prefer bard to machinist, wayyyyy too much stuff has a cast time for bard. If you're a fan of cast times, I think you're better off with BLM because at least you'll feel like your instant procs are hitting hard. Otherwise, steer clear of ranged classes for now.

If you want simple, I might suggest paladin or warrior. There is a lot more responsibility in playing a tank class, but a monkey could be trained to hold enmity while dealing damage. Paladin has no variety in its rotation until 54, and even then it's pretty straight forward. Warrior gives you the choice of damage vs buff/debuff, but once you get used to keeping your 20% damage buff up, its a piece of cake.