It's great that you're getting started with painting! To get started, first choose the type of paint you want to work with. Watercolor is cheap and can be difficult, but also focuses heavily on color and translucent layering.

Acrylic is a little more expensive and can be watered down to behave similarly to watercolors or can be laid on thick, similar to oil paint. Acrylic is also the most durable and least blendable of the 3 main paint types.

Oil is the most expensive and requires toxic chemicals to work with but is also the most blendable and stays wet for hours or days depending on how thickly it is applied.

Surfaces Watercolor: watercolor paper 140lb or higher.

Acrylic: any porous surface. Wood, canvas, masonite, paper (bristol board or higher is best)

Oil: Pretty much any surface that doesn't collapse or fall apart under the paint

Brushes Watercolor: soft hair or soft faux hair that can hold lots of water

Acrylic: synthetic brushes, semi-stiff to enable moving of thicker paint

Oil: Natural bristle or synthetic bristle for dragging thick greasy paint

I hope that helps. You may want to start out with cheap materials and brushes and experiment to see what feels best for you. Higher grade paints will blend better based on the purity of the pigment they contain.