Worms are the perfect composting method for an apartment dweller. I only wish I had known about it years ago when I lived in an apt. All you need is a small container like a rubbermaid bin or kitty litter bucket ( like I use.) As far as smell goes, if you do it right and do not get carried away and overfeed, it will NOT smell like rotten food. It will smell more like damp soil.

In my opinion, you should never overthink the problem, Worms are quite adaptable. Be patient..don't try to get a massive worm colony overnight. Start slow and learn. Go back through the posts here and ask questions.
If you need to, email people directly. You will find most people more that wiling to help.

I would recommend looking at youtube.com, and searching DIY worm bin. Find a video that has a bin you can make with what you have or can get easily, and then go from there.

As pjames said, this site is full of info, as is redwormcomposting.com and some other sites.
Oh, and if you order worms online, be sure to get them from a place as close to you as possible. Shipping worms in the heat of summer is not easy. Best is to go online and find someone local where you can pick them up.
If you do decide to buy them from an online supplier, be sure to google them for reviews before you purchase- some suppliers have better reputations than others. The ones that advertise the most are often not the best option.

Learn About Composting with Worms:
http://vermicomposters.ning.com/
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/verm/
http://thegardenforums.org/viewforum.php?f=42&start=0
http://www.klickitatcounty.org/SolidWaste/fileshtml/organics/compostCalc.htm
http://www.bae.ncsu.edu//topic/vermicomposting/vermiculture/worm_publications.html
http://www.wormwoman.com/acatalog/index.html
http://www.redwormcomposting.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFGQR5ERaPQ&feature=player_embedded
Books:
Worms Eat My Garbage by Mary Appelhof
ISBN 0-942256-10-7
The Worm Book by Loren Nancarrow and Janet Hogan Taylor
ISBN 978-89815-994-3

Ask us:
jugglebuckets@gmail.com

Composting worms are available at:
http://www.findworms.com/
http://www.cityfarmer.org/wormsupl79.html
http://vermicomposters.ning.com/forum/topics/worm-suppliers
http://www.bae.ncsu.edu/topic/vermicomposting/vermiculture/resource.html

One more simple way to start. Walmart sells bait worms in their sporting goods department. The trout worms appear to be Euro night crawlers. They came in a container of 30 (about) with bedding. Why you should give this a thought for starting out? well no shipping cost for one No worry about shipping weather extremes and being on hand to pick up your worms. the bedding will give you a real good idea on moisture content. Once started? Well the information posted above is excellent
Curt

Spend some time researching the links already provided, then spend most of your budget on worms instead of a commercially sold worm bin. The bait worm route is ok if you are certain the worms are Euros. Sometimes they're Canadian night crawlers, which will not work in a worm compost bin. I suggest spending $50 for 2 lbs. of red wigglers shipped to your door and $4 for an 18 gal. tote rather than $80-100 for a commercially sold bin and $5 worth of bait worms.

Kunedawq:

I spent the better part of this morning sifting vermicompost and separating cocoons. I have a proposition for you and some simple advice. Read the information provided in the links you were given so you have some background knowledge then Email me directly. You will find a link on my page. I believe in the start simple, start cheap and learn approach (to almost anything.)