when i turn the key everything lights up like normal but it doesnt make a sound and wont start. i was told that if my guages light up than it's not the ignition switch but most likely the starter. does this sound right or is there something else i can try before i spend $120 on a new starter plus labor.

 

Does everything stay lit while you try to crank (start) the engine? I had a very similar situation when my AC Delco battery decided to quit on me. The POSitive terminal in the AC Delco batteries have a horrible reputation for corroding off inside the battery. This can cause quite a few weird problems. In my situation when this happened, the truck started just fine. I moved it out of the way and shut it off. Came back about 1 hr later and tried to start it. Turned the key on and everything worked like normal. Tried to start it and while the key was in the start position, lost power to everything. Let the key go back to the 'on' position and everything would come back on. I pulled off the battery terminals only to have the positive lug pull out of the front of the battery allowing battery acid to flow out all over the place.

If you haven't checked your battery terminals yet, check 'em.

Also, what year/engine/options vehicle are we talking about here?

I would also like to say that you could take out the battery and have it load tested at pretty much any auto parts store to see if it is the battery. Wouldn't want to put in a new starter only to find out that it was your battery all along. And batteries can go bad and still power the accessories, just not supply the current the starter requires.