The Explorer rose is a good choice for a beginner. Canada Agriculture Dept. developed the whole line of Explorers to be cold-hardy and easy to grow. There's a Great Lakes website with info on what and what not to do with Explorers. I myself have a "John Davis" Explorer, a pink climber.
As for the Austin rose, personally, I'm not fond of them since they have little or no scent. Instead I planted more old-fashioned varieties which seem to thrive with little care. Your zone 6B should be fine for them.
Check out the Gardenweb forum on antique or heirloom roses and see what they have to say, too.

Here is a link that might be useful: Great Lakes Roses

I grew three, unsuccessfully. I think my zone 5 (with occasional really frigid temps and some open winters) set them back a lot each year. The one that survived was given to a friend who planted it in a more protected location, but even there some years it was r winter killed and was pokey looking in the summer, or it looked good; never great.
Also, when they say full sun, they mean full sun.
If I were going to put out money for roses, I'd go the Rose Forum. Just remember to say what zone you are in. Those David Austin pictures are just so seductive, but I'm just not sure they are a great New England rose.

I'll post in the Rose garden thank you very much for the suggestion. I've never jumped on the rose bandwagon before, but my young sons are getting interested in my garden so I told them they could each pick a flower to add to the garden this year, and wouldn't you know they both picked roses.

Thanks for the input. Off to do some more research!

Lisa

Lisa, I don't have experience with those particular roses, but I can't decide whether to warn you or encourage you about the rose forum, lol! My, oh, my, once you go there, you will want to fill every inch of your property with those gorgeous roses that you will see there.

Prepare to be enabled, lol! And good luck with your choices!

:)
Dee

I grow 'Prospero' for 5 years.
As a matter of fact, 10 of them. Mine are from Pickering and I can't say enough good words about their quality. They graft roses on a multiflora and this is the best rootstock for the East Coast.
I have them planted as a formal hedge of 5 on each side of the short walkway in practicaly full sun, but with adequate watering. Roughly 3x3' shrubs most of the season with some ocassional pruning of the longer shoots. Beside first major flush of bloom Prospero produces some flowers all summer long and then another flush in a late September.
Can't say they are absolutely disease resistant, as say Knockout, but not particularly prone to PM or BS either, as Mary Rose or Graham Thomas, another Austin's growing nearby.
On a scale of 0 to 5, I'd value Prospero as a solid 4.

I only know that I absolutely love my Abraham Darby rose, so I want to get another one. This rose is big, disease-resistant and a nonstop bloomer. I highly recommend it.

Sadly, the only roses I can grow are the bullet-proof Fairy and New Dawn. Even Bonica looks a little sad in my garden.

Those photos are certainly alluring! I'm going to stay as far away from the rose forum as I can; just looking at the links Lisa provided got me going, and I can see what Dee and Marie mean about seduction.