Raid support on a server

Ok I have dedicated windows box with Server Intellect and I am getting ready to upgrade my box. Before I was running with just 1 250gig hd and getting my backups done with them on seprate server. Now I want to install a raid setup for extra data protection and redundancy. I see there is like 4 different raid setups. I want to know which one is the best for data protection and load balancing. I dont just want a definition I need some layman's terminology so I can best decide ultimately which set up will be preferred. Thanks! Tweet