Lost without a map

Alright, I read the Hobbit a couple years ago and liked it, and thought I'd read The Silmarillion, because it was common enough to get at the local library, and was shorter than The Fellowship of the Rings, which was too long to read in the time I have to do it. I've been using the index Christopher Tolkien includes, and, while it's useful, I can't figure out where the heck I am without a good map. Does anyone know where I can find one online? Every time I read text descriptions, I get absolutely lost. For example, I have no idea where the heck Aman is, and I read on this board that it is separated by an ocean. Was it that way from the beginning? Nobody seems to have maps of the first age is my problem, I suppose.
Also, I've been flipping back and forth, checking the index and trying to figure out certain refences. Does everybody read the book this way, or do they read steadily and presume the references will clarify themselves? Do most people read it after being more substantially familiar with Middle-Earth? I guess what worries me is that people are saying that it can be read in a day and I think I'm more confused than I should be by that standard. Anyway, somebody please help me out, because I'm so worried that I am missing more than I should be.