To add to this: If you have a friend that plays guitar (preferably one who plays well), ask them to go to the music store with you to pick out a low cost, high

To add to this: If you have a friend that plays guitar (preferably one who plays well), ask them to go to the music store with you to pick out a low cost, high quality, instrument. I've gladly done this for several friends over the years. And, it's surprising what you can find on the very low end of the market these days. Yamaha has some fantastic cheap guitars, for example. $200-$300 will get you a new, entirely playable, acoustic or electric guitar. I have a $2000+ Gibson J45, and I often play my girlfriend's $250 Yamaha...it's really not a bad guitar, at all. I have no real complaints about it; it obviously isn't as nice as my J45, but hell, it cost a 9th as much (she actually got it free...someone who moved out of an apartment left it behind). Having an experienced friend with you will help make sure the instrument is setup correctly (that can be an issue, and you shouldn't buy a new instrument that isn't), that it sounds nice and plays comfortably, etc. There is some variability in quality across instruments, and they're made of natural materials with variable densities and characteristics, so even if you read a bunch of reviews and go buy the best reviewed one, an experienced friend can help pick the best one of that model in the store.