SO! Congratulations you've decided to go Agile (or maybe you haven't yet, but you are looking into it, still good for you!). But what now? Chances are, you will probably do a google search on what tool/utilities are out there to help you manage. Yes there are some open source/freeware/shareware apps out there, but do you really need them? Or do you need to go the $$$$ route to get what you need? Are you a gadget guy/gal and need to have the latest'n'greatest tools before you start on something?
At it's minimum, Agile is about speed, getting stuff done ASAP! To that point, buying, installing, learing to use, supporting, administrating and just plain USING (complicated?) tools can be a nightmare, even if the tool is FREE! So what's a person to do?
Pickup some sticky notes, a pad of paper and pen (I prefer my pencil actually), then find a vacant room with white boards with markers and erasers! That's what you'll need at a minimum. Surprised? Me too! But rigtht now, the basics are to keep you're actors progressing towards the sprint goal. Anything else would only serve as a potential distraction which you don't need right now.
After you get a sprint (or two) under your belt, you'll hopefully have experienced some joy and accomplishment with producing something! Kudos! Next you might want to track your backlogs (Sprint and Product Backlogs) with something simple like Excel or Word. That could be your next step. Still very simple, and keeps your focus on the deliverables. Hey, if you want to use Lotus 123 or WordPerfect, be my guest, this is your baby and what ever motivates you is what you'll use and continue to use (something David Allen is a big believer in).
Sometime in the future, once the existing spreadsheet gets a bit large (how large? that's your call) and once you're more comfortable with Agile, you'll know what you want and can focus on satisfying those needs with specific software. In other words, let your experiences with the process tell you what you really need instead of guessing at the beginning. By this point, your team will be very comfortable with Agile and producing regular deliverables, so you can then spend a bit of time focusing on some specific Agile tools. Just make sure "process improvement" is part of your Product and Sprint Backlog. :>
References:
Google's Agile utility/tool search: hhtp://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=agile+tools+utilities
The Core of Agile (Kathleen Dollard's blog, Leaning Into Windows): http://msmvps.com/blogs/kathleen/archive/2008/12/07/the-core-of-agile.aspx