I also am thinking about setting up a LAMP server at home primarily as a
learning experience. You are correct that most folks using Linux servers
deal strictly with the command line for set up, maintenance and routine day
to day operation. Mater of fact I plan only to have a monitory, keyboard
and mouse on the system long enough to complete the installation.

For the rest of the time the server will either been in the basement or in
the shack and I will SSH into the box to maintain it. When you asked your
question I remembered seeing something on the subject on You Tube so I went
back and did a quick search and found this. Hope it helps.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKJ55ebMcOc

I found three books on LAMP on Amazon.
Note some of them are very old.
Others got bad reviews.
I found used copies but not from the same seller.
I can dig it out and post if there is interest.
Put them in my wish list, so I could find them again.
I set one up but never did what I intended to do with it.
About to try again.

I did it two ways from a fresh install as LAMP,
next by adding each of the pieces.

More info out these on older Ubuntu versions.
But I may try 12.10

Unless you are running a high-volume web server, I think it's a lot easier to
install Apache, Mysql and Perl/PHP/Python on Ubuntu Desktop. That way, all the
tools you are used to are available.

I second this. If your are setting up a test bed server that never goes
live then command line is the hard way.

Or if you are anything like me, your server is a 12 year old machine that
is unusable as a desktop anymore, but works perfectly well as a command
line only web, print, and file server (admittedly a slow one).