I also found my essay. Not telling you how to suck eggs if you already knew this. Just thought it might help

There are lots of types;

Prefolds - like an old fashioned flat but smaller, less folds. Great for NBs. Held together with a snappi/pin. Dry Fast, cheap, need a cover.

Fitteds - a fitted (so with leg and back elastic) nappy made entirely of absorbant material. Takes a bit longer to dry than a prefold but not much. No folding. Held together with velcro/snaps/snappi/pins depending on which one you get. These aren't waterproof on their own so need a cover.

Pockets - come in OSFM and sized nappies. A waterproof shell that you stuff with absorbent material. Dry really quick. Held together with snaps/velcro.

AI2s - a waterproof shell with a snap in absorbent bit. Fast drying, easy to use, more expensive. Come in side snap or front snap varieties. Plenty of makers including big companies and WAHMs.

AIOs - similar to a disposable in that it all comes in one package but you wash it. Much longer to dry as the absorbency can't be unfolded for drying. Easy for daycare/dads. Not many true AIOs around any more.

Absorbent materials;
Zorb - cheap man made fibre that's new on the market. Doesn't hold a great amount of fluid and very prone to compression leaks (so if it's full and it's squeezed - like being sat/layed on, it leaks out the fluid)
Microfibre - similar to zorb but hold a bit more. Prone to compression leaks. Nice and cheap.
Hemp - a natural, antibacterial fabric. Absorbs more than microfibre but less than bamboo.
Bamboo - Same properties as hemp but holds more per weight.

Covers;
PUL - easy to use, relatively cheap. Breathable plasticky stuff. Good for day use
Fleece - more breathable than PUL, better for nights and funnily enough not as hot as PUL.
Wool - holds a lot of wee before it feels wet. Needs lanolising. Best for night use.

Liners; I personally don't use them, have never had the need, some people love them
disposable - flushable binable
microfleece - just chuck in the wash with your nappies

My advice is;
-fitteds and prefolds are best for NBs as two layers of protection against NB poospolsions is better than one. Easier to get them to fit tiny bums.
- OSFM is great in theory but often they're still too big for tiny babies and they wear out before they last the journey.
-work out what you want out of them - fast drying? easy to use? funky looking?
- never ever buy an entire stash of one type of nappy unless you know for certain that it works for your particular baby.
-what works for one child doesn't always work for others. Many rave about itti bittis for eg but I don't rate them at all.
- unless you know that is what you want to do only buy a couple and test them out. Some people try them and hate them. It's much easier to write off the cost of two or three as opposed to a whole stash.
-they do sound expensive, but if you work out the cost of a box of disposables over the nappying life of your child you'd be horrified.
-many advise for a nappy bucket with a tight fitting lid - I say chuck the lid out. The ammonia buildup with the lid on is horrendous and breaks down your bamboo, pul and elastic quicker. I have used a swing top bin too. The smell isn't anything really.
-cloth wipes are just as easy to use with water as bought ones and your finger goes through them less. Nothing like poo covered fingers
-dry paling and half washing powder is recommended. Easy as.
-no soaking in harsh chemicals as it breaks down the waterproofing/elastic quicker
-no nappy creams with petrochemical bases as they clog and ruin the nappies.

There are ebay cheapies and they're OK. Don't last forever and you need to buy more boosters than they come with. However saying that even though some are really expensive they don't work for everyone.
Checkout the cloth nappy threads.
There are also a couple of buy and swap sites on FB if you want to try out some second hand cheapies.