Why does my Team Fortress 2 keep saying 'retrieving server information' when I click 'start playing?'?

I installed TF2 and after 7 hours of installing everything seemed to be working perfectly but the online play. I clicked 'start playing' and it just says 'retrieving server information please wait.' So I waited about a half an hour and it still said it. So I uninstalled and reinstalled it, which took another 7 hours, and it says the same thing. I've tried restarting my steam, reinstalling the game, restarting my computer, and also restarting my router but nothing seems to change or help. Any ideas on why this is happening or what I can do to fix it? Thanks!