$1500 is high right now, but if you really aren't good with your hands, it may be worth it. The hardest part is assembling the lower parts kit, and there's a thorough
walkthrough on arfcom if you want to look into it. You could build an upper from scratch which would be a little more complicated, but they are generally available complete or complete minus a bolt carrier group, which just slides in place.
Here's what I have into my AR build so far:
Stripped Lower: $150
Lower Parts Kit: $75 (retail for $50ish if you can find one in stock, $80-100 on EE.AR15)
Stock: $75
5.56 Upper w/ charging handle: $515
5.56 BCG: $125
Rear Iron Sight: $40
PMag: $20
Total: ~ $1000
Extras that are optional:
.22 Ciener Conversion: $125
Extra .22 Magazine: $30
The biggest variance will come in your optics choices. Most uppers have a front sight built into the gas block, which saves you money if you want to use iron sights. Scopes & mounting hardware will vary across the board depending on how much you want to spend. You could also get an upper with a built in or removable carry handle, which takes care of the rear iron sight.
It's all the little accessories that start adding up. New trigger, trigger guard, forend grip, free floating rails, compensators, etc.
You also have to consider the time it takes to accrue all of these parts right now when the demand is through the roof. Most manufacturers are back ordered several months on uppers. I got lucky and found a small store in Missouri that got some CMMG uppers in stock for a good price. LPKs are very hard to find in stock, but there are many on arfcom's EE at a hefty premium. All of the other accessories will vary depending on the popularity. Magpul stuff is in high demand, etc. Stripped lowers were hard to find for a while, but a few local stores seem to have a steady supply of them as of late.