Take this with a pinch of salt but this is my ideal way of starting to play guitar. You'll need: A starter Eletric guitar & Amplifer - Cheapest way is to buy

Take this with a pinch of salt but this is my ideal way of starting to play guitar. You'll need: A starter Eletric guitar & Amplifer - Cheapest way is to buy a combined Guitar/Amp package from the likes of Fender sold under their Squier range. Now others may hate them but for the beginner they are ideal. At worst if you hate it, stick on ebay or craigslist or if you handy with a soldering iron, upgrade the pickups. Also makes sure the amplifer has a headphone socket and use headphones for late night jams. An electronic tuner - Guitars go out of tune. It will get you consistant results sound wise. There is nothing more off putting for a beginner for a guitar that is out of tune. Now this is optional - get your guitar setup at your local guitar shop. It will help sound wise and playability. Buy strings - Don't worry about breaking strings. They are cheap. Easy to replace. If you can upgrade the ram in your PC, you are competant enough to change a guitar string. It's easy, nothing to be afraid of. For instant results, learn how to play the intro riff to the Deep Purple song, Smoke on the Water. It is easy and will give you an instant results. Then learn "Power Chords". Will get you results that will please your ears. There are tons of youtube tutorials on how to play the guitar. Start easy, don't worry about not getting it right. Just take your time, relax and enjoy it. The chords, scales will come in time. The main thing is to practise rhythum. An electric will give you results quickly compared to Acoustic and Classical, which due to the way they are setup. Are harder to learn on. If you are not sure, try them in your local guitar shop. Some may hate what I suggest but I believe for a beginner, simple results will encourage you further and make it enjoyable so when you do the course above, it is not as scary. A course like the above would be great and I believe if you add it in with what I suggest, you'll be happy. Remember nothing is set in stone. You can learn acoustic, electric and classical at anytime in your life. Just have fun and enjoy it. One last thing, /r/guitar sub Reddit is great if you have questions or your local music shop. Don't be afraid of asking questions. That is how we learn.