Looking for Help Planning My Trip to Madrid

I haven’t really travelled overseas much, so I am looking for some help and advice. I am going to Madrid next month. I just got the plane tickets, and now I need to sort through all the options for cheap Madrid hotels and choose something. Can anyone recommend a good hotel or a good area to stay in that is convenient to many of the tourist attractions? I still am not sure where all I would like to go, except to the Prado to see some of the artwork. Hopefully I will be able to get by okay with my high school Spanish skills.