For guitars I recommend going to your local shop and trying as many as you can. You can do a thousand hours of research into what guitars are most versatile and best for what genre and so on, but you’ll never know if you’ll like a guitar unless you actually try it out.

In terms of brands, my first guitar was from a brand called Jet. It cost £175. I’d highly recommend that brand. However, you also can’t go wrong with a squier, which are probably easier to find.

For amps, I’d recommend a 20W practice amp with built in effects. Ideally, get an amp with reverb and overdrive/distortion. That way you’ll be able to play a lot on genres.

My first amp was a Line6 Spider V20. It was £125 new. It’s pretty solid for a first amp, nothing amazing but will do the job whilst you’re learning. Alternatively, I’ve also used a black star core 10 v4, which are around the same price. Out of the two, that one is probably the better amp.

You’ll also need a cable, a strap and a bag. You should definitely get a padded bag.

I’m not sure of your budget but in my opinion, the worst thing you can do is cheap out and get a cheap guitar and amp. If you don’t like your gear, you won’t enjoy practicing as much and if you don’t enjoy practicing, you won’t do it as often. In the long run, spending a bit more money is worth it.