You need to show a set of slightly overlapping photos the pan the whole back yard, taken while standing next to center of back of house. Don't take pictures through screen.

I'm with m_s. Since you're a new homeowner, get to know your yard and how you use it. e.g. if you just want to sit on a hammock in the shade, don't get rid of the trees or if you want to have parties with people hanging around a firepit, leave it more rustic.

If you need to do 'something' now, you can probably go and weedwhack most of that and trim the dead branches out of the trees and it will look 100% better and no long term harm done.

i guess our thinking was just that we'd like to get it tame enough that we aren't 'afraid' of what is back there...so as you suggested just take a weed whacker and some sweat to remove what we can might be sufficient until we can soak in and brainstorm on what we'd like...

Can we figure that the rough, large shrubs at what look like the back lot line will remain as a backdrop, at least for the time being? With trees fore of that line, I'd remove lower limbs whether they were dead or alive so that you can view on all the way to the back limit. No reason to cut off the view in the middle of the yard.

I'm not against thinking about how you would like to use space and what it can become, but to me, it doesn't look like all the weeds are anything more than weeds. If mine I don't think I would want lawn running back there, but some planting and mulch would be likely. I'd start in on not just cutting, but killing with Round-up and mulching with free mulch in preparation for whatever it will become later. But cutting at the minimum.

Please, please, please, take a look at "The Living Landscape" by Rick Darke and Doug Tallamy, or an older work (1993) "Noah's Garden" by Sara Stein. You are blessed with a site that, with a bit of work to remove undesirables and add desirables, can attract birds and butterflies to add a delightful element to your landscape.

thank you all for your guidance. my husband and i are looking into all the suggestions you provided. so far we've decided it will be a gradual process and we'll start with a weedwhacker so we can at least get through it and see how we feel about doing anything greater after we've had a chance to soak it all in as you advised!