Okay, so I already have a site built from wetpaint.com. It's like webs, sorta, in that its free to build and design and share, but there's also an option to use a domain you own to redirect to your wetapint site. I want people to be able to find my site more easily, since wetpaint's domain names are affiliates and rather long.

Is there any way I can just get a domain name for free without having to get all this hosting crap?

No, because there are fees for that (ICANN registry, etc). Domains are not free, unless you want to get a .tk, .co.nr, or .co.cc, .something.tc, or something like that. If you want a .com, .org, .net, or any of those, then you need to pay for them.

http://www.godaddy.com/default.aspx *paid*
http://www.dot.tk/en/pageA00.html
http://www.freedomain.co.nr/
http://www.smartdots.com/

If you are interested in getting hosting, then I can point you towards some good hosting companies and help you get started if you need it.

for hosting i know about 1000 people who use directnic and 1&1

for domains , i use directnic A$15 per year, its more then most places BUT I have full control of my domain instantly, no delay ever and instant ssl certs, which I order 10 a month at least.

long story short, you have to pay for domains no matter what (unless you find some low life spammy domain selling site but thats a huge risk).

happy webbing....now that everyone is getting fire from their jobs , everyone is a webmaster, its nice being a webhost