Live Price Comparison for "background music collection"

Sweetwater (the consensus best — every guitar hand-inspected before shipping). Reverb (used + new from individual sellers, like eBay for music). Guitar Center (in-store experience + online). Musician's Friend. For high-end: B&H Photo, Vintage King. Always check Sweetwater first for new — the personal sales rep adds real value.

Acoustic guitar (Yamaha FG800, $230 — best $/quality ratio for any beginner instrument). Ukulele ($60-120, lowest learning curve). Keyboard (Yamaha P-45, $500 — for piano). Cajón ($100, easiest percussion to start). Skip drum kits for true beginners (loud + expensive); start with electronic kit ($400+) or hand drums.

Enough to get a quality instrument that won't fight you. Guitar: $200-500 (anything cheaper has bad action and won't stay in tune). Piano/keyboard: $500-800. Violin: $250-500 (rentals start at $20/month). Drum: $400-800 (electronic) or $600+ (acoustic). Cheap instruments make practice frustrating — beginners quit because the instrument fights them.

Acoustic — simpler setup (no amp, no cables), portable, develops finger strength faster, broader use cases. Electric — easier on fingers initially (lower string action), more genres possible, requires amp + cables. Most teachers recommend acoustic first; electric second. Beginners with rock/metal interest: electric is fine to start.

Yes for learning — JustinGuitar.com (free), Yousician ($150/yr — for guitar/piano), Pianote (piano), Drumeo (drums) — structured curriculum better than YouTube alone. Splice ($10-30/mo) for producers + beat makers. Soundtrap or BandLab (free) for DAW. Most amateur musicians benefit more from one quality subscription than dozens of YouTube videos.

Every time you play. Acoustic guitars hold tune longer than electric. New strings need re-tuning frequently for first 2-3 days. Temperature + humidity changes detune guitars. Quality tuner (Snark Clip-On, $15 or Boss TU-3 pedal, $100) is essential. Most beginners give up because they play out of tune — fix this first.