Lift kit? Level Kit?

Whats up you Tacoma owners,
I have got a few questions about lifting and/or leveling my tacoma. I'm not that experienced with knowing much about this topic which is why I'm here, so be patient with me!

I got a 2014 4cyl/ 2.7L / SR5/ Prerunner/ 4 door/ Automatic tacoma.

I want to give it a lift, but I don't want to go crazy with it.. Maybe like a 3-4" lift in the front and a 1" in the back, but I don't know if I should lift it or get a level kit..(to be honest, I don't know the difference). I still got my stock tires/rims on there too, so I'm investing on getting some new rims, and some BF goodrich Rugged Terrain tires, but I need to figure out the dimension of the lift I'm going to get so I can figure out the size of tire, width of tire etc. And so I don't mess up my steering ratio..

So, my question is.. Which of the 2 should I get? Level kit? or Lift kit?
Where should I buy it? What size, inches or brand should I buy?

Thank you to anyone who can help me out!!

 

That truck is awful heavy for the 4cyl as it is, If you go to a 33" tire , I'd recommend re-gearing. 33" tire is average for about 3 inch lift. Or if you just "level" the truck out. Maybe an inch and a half in the front, you could stick with stock tires or bump to a 265 and it shouldn't drive much different.

 

I have a 4cyl access.

I wouldn't go bigger than a 31-32" tire. She'll get really sluggish. I leveled it out with bilstein 5100s and put on 265/75/16s. It's noticeable.

 

When you did the 5100s did it cause that dreaded needle bearing shimmy? What did you set your 5100s to? It seems fuzzy were the line for getting that shimmy.

 

Righton! Thank you so much!

 

I've got a lifted 2.7 running HEAVY 33's..

So what if I have to downshift into third to make it up some hills on the highway.....