I have only played Runescape for about a day or two, and I could not keep at it. Maybe it was how cheesy it felt, or that I can actually afford to pay monthly.. but it could not keep me entertained. I'm sure I would like it after a week of playing..
World of Warcraft is great, but at first it was exactly like Runescape. Boring, too hard to learn.. but if you keep at it, it actually gets fun. I would say around level 15-20.. when you start to do instances with people.