Newbie hypothetical:
ignoring all of the various restrictions on a Roth, and assuming a current age of 25...if I were to invest dollar-for-dollar, year-over-year in identical portfolios of securities via both a Roth IRA and a common discount brokerage account, and never withdraw any money from either until retirement at age 60, say, (whereby all Roth disbursements are fully qualified) the only (albeit significant) difference between those disbursements would be that my non-Roth account withdrawls would be counted, and therefore taxed, as income?

Please consider this question in light of the following information: I am young (25), not risk adverse, and a Fool under development, IMHO (no day trading here!). I plan to be fully involved in analyzing and selecting the securities of my future portfolio, adjusting the perceived risk underlying my assests downward as retirement approaches. I currently have no liabilities, but no assets. ALL investing I do will be for the purpose of retirement at, say, 60, not to supplement current income. My goal is to pile a substantial nestegg for retirement, so that I may maintain or improve my just-before-retirement standard of living...frankly, I wish for a lavish retirement. And I don't mind the notion of leaving money to my heirs. All other things constant, to maximize my spending potential upon retirement, it would be prudent to fully contribute to a Roth first, then additionally via a standard brokerage account, right? As I understand it, earnings on the non-Roth would not be taxed so long as I continue to use them for investing...restated, taxes on earnings are deferred until they are used for consumption (realized?)...Am I totally off base here?

Finally, any security available for purchase through a standard discount brokerage account would be an option through a Roth account at the same brokerage as well, right?

Thanx a mil!
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