It's a great hobby, and there are a lot of brewing methods and different coffees to explore. Coffee is a very complex and individually subjective experience, so take any advice with a grain of salt, for YMMV.
I have a few cones, a clever dripper, an aeropress, a french press, a cold brewer, a mypressi, and a fancy semi-auto e61 espresso machine. I have a hand grinder, an inexpensive burr grinder, and a Vario. I also have three different roasters.
For a beginner, a good bang for the buck might be a clever dripper and a blade grinder. Maybe thirty bucks, produces a nice consistent cup without a lot of technique that that the other cones benefit from. The next step up would be a nicer grinder, maybe an inexpensive baratza.
For the most part, I recommend spending your money on the coffee, read the counterculture or klatch descriptions, find a few friends to split up the coffee with. (so that you don't let it go stale, or find one that doesn't sit well with you but is too expensive to throw out)
For the advanced guys, have you ever tried cold brewing?