Jamie, if you are looking for a nice snake for a pet, a normal (non-morph) male is always a wonderful choice. Many top breeders have these lovely males available at very reasonable prices each year.

Where I see a hatchling from a reputable breeder as better than a pet store yearling is this. That yearling has been "started" in a pet store environment, it's been exposed to gawd knows what as other snakes came in and out of that pet store. It's been handled by various staff and customers and may not have been handled correctly all the time. There may be little to no actual background information/record keeping on the snake.

A breeder selling you an 07 hatchling will be selling you a snake that you have a number of guarantee's....gender, hatch date, absense of parasites both internal and external, genetics (morph or normal the breeder will know exactly what your snake is genetically speaking), feeding history, live arrival (if shipped), etc. A reputable breeder will be with you during the sale and long afterwards as you become a confident ball python owner.

Be wary of online purchases as with anything....there are a number of awful so called breeders out there. However, if you work with a reputable breeder - one of you checked out by asking around, checking the BOI, going through our threads here sort of thing - I am confident you will likely have a much easier, less stressful experience for both you and your new snake.