He may not have had the title of emperor, but neither did Augustus. (Imperator just means commander) He was Dictator for life and had great religious power as the Pontifex Maximus.
Some people did consider Caesar to be the first emperor, though they may be a minority. I've written about that before here.
That answer is specific to Barnes' argument that Romans in general considered Caesar to be the first emperor. Perhaps looking over that thread will keep you busy until someone comes along to address you directly.