Is this game difficult to get into as a beginner?

It's more fun to play with a friend.

On my first go around to level 30 I actually played almost every game with 4 of my friends. We had a blast and I got to bypass the level 1-20ish levels that are filled with ragers and smurfs.

I'm not really sure skipping lvls 1 to 30 by playing only with friends is a good idea, specially if said friends are all ranked, because genereally the other team will have them too and said new player will most likely end up going against one of them. I say this from experience, I've been playing with my friends lately and among them there's this guy which isn't lvl 30 yet, he is trying to master top lane and 90% of the time he feeds the lane.

To be honest I'm not quite sure about this myself, but as my advice to CrimsonJohn I'd suggest you solo or duo queue up until you get to lvl 30, all the while you watch streams. Also try all 5 lanes and then focus on the one you feel the most confortable at, then pick a few champs for that lane alone and train.