Starter brew kettle/pot suggestions?

I went with a standard 15 gallon keg and cut the top off. Makes a great kettle and it's all stainless steel!! Picked up mine for 30 bucks off a friend who runs a beverage store...basically I paid off his deposit on the thing but I know people also find them on craigslist.

 

If you're looking for small batches (2.5 gal and below) I would suggest the Graniteware pots. Cheap enough, they have 16qt (4gallon) version that works well for that size. I have one of those and a larger, 33QT version that works perfectly for full boils of 5 gallon batches, looking at 6.5 - 7 gallons into the kettle. At 7 it does get close and I have boiled over once or twice, from not paying attention. I do plan to upgrade soon enough, probably going for a full 10-gal for boil, though I will keep the 33qt and 30qt I have (that one came from the turkey fryer setup I have) to use those for strike / sparge water and if I plan to try step mashes somewhere in the future.

 

Walmart normally gas 30 quart canning pots than I use a splash guard I got on Amazon as a false bottom

 

If you are new at this hobby, then I wouldn't spend a whole lot until you're committed to brewing on a regular basis. Are you planning to brew using the all-grain method? Starting with extract, then advancing to all-grain? Brewing 5-gallon batches? If starting with extract and making 5 gallons at a time, I'd get a modest-priced pot that is in the 7.5 gallon area for capacity. You'll be able to brew nearly a full boil and then top-off with water to get your 5 gallons, but it is a manageable size for a beginner to be able to lift all that liquid, etc. Once you've 'practiced' enough and want to advance to all-grain, then you can get a bigger and better quality pot. Your first pot will still see lots of usage (heating sparge water, mixing sanitizing solution, etc.), so it won't be wasted money.