You'll probably have better luck with that question here: http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/forums/homebrewing.8/
You can find some good deals for used equipment on Craig's List, etc. so it's worth a search. Your budget will be a big factor also in which equipment to purchase. But first you need to know what you want to get out of homebrewing, i.e. brewing 5-gallon batches to fill the fridge for a month of beer vs. brewing a 1-gallon batch weekly so that you can try many different styles. Spending time in the Homebrewing forum will be very beneficial. Here are a couple links to searches that I did in that forum: http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/search/32601508/?q=equipment&o=date&c[title_only]=1&c[node]=8 http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/search/32601511/?q=newbie&o=date&c[title_only]=1&c[node]=8 The first was done using 'equipment' as my search word, and looking for thread titles only. The second search used the same procedure but with 'newbie' as the search word. Frequently in the threads that are in either search you will see the recommendation to read John Palmer's book howtobrew.com which is free online, or you can purchase the newer edition so that you have something that you can highlight, write notes, etc. The book has a section dealing with equipment. Another good book is by Charlie Papazian called The Complete Joy of Homebrewing. It receives regular mention in this forum too. I have not read it to be able to say it is any better than the other book.
