Recommendations

The Yamaha FG800 is an excellent choice for players who want a high-quality guitar without breaking the bank. It even features a solid-spruce top, which is normally only found on more expensive guitars and contributes greatly to its depth of sound.

Being a dreadnought-style guitar, the FG800 is comfortable to hold and has great resonance overall. It’s basically one of the best guitars under $300, so you won’t go wrong by picking one up. The FG800 is also a perfect choice for beginners.  You can find yours right here.

The Fender FA-115 has a well-built neck with a 20-fret rosewood fingerboard, making it easy to play chords and scales. The action is relatively low, allowing for smooth playing and reduced hand fatigue. The guitar’s dreadnought body shape is also comfortable to hold, making it a good option for beginners.

The only real downside of the FA-115 is that it has a laminate as opposed to a solid spruce top. As a result, you’re going to get a less deep and powerful sound than you’d expect from a more expensive instrument. That said, the FA-115 proves that you can still get a great sound out of a bit less material. In short, you get more than your money’s worth. Find your own FA-115 right here.

The Epiphone DR-100 is well established as one of the best starter guitars. Its tone is full and balanced, and most players find it comfortable to hold and play. The DR-100 is also capable of playing music in a variety of styles, so if you want to have some musical flexibility, this guitar might be a good choice. If you’re like me, you can really appreciate a guitar with a smooth and elegant finish. The DR-100 can definitely lay claim to this, and that’s rare for budget guitars. In all, whether you’re a beginner buying your first guitar or a seasoned player adding to your collection, the DR-100 won’t let you down. You can find yours right here.

The Ibanez AW54 is best known for its playability. It sits well under the arm and its frets are smooth and well-finished. This makes it an ideal choice for beginners, since a guitar that’s fun to play is a whole lot easier to improve on.

The AW54 also has a high standard of construction. It features a solid mahogany top, which gives it a surprisingly resonant sound for a budget guitar. You’re also likely to appreciate the AW54’s visual appeal, which combines a traditional and modern finishing style. Overall, this guitar provides an excellent return on your investment. You can find it right here.

Jasmine S35 The Jasmine S35 is arguably the best budget guitar on this list. If you truly want to save money getting started with guitar, you won’t do better than this, period. The S35 is definitely an inexpensive instrument, but it’s not cheap. You’re still getting a well-built guitar that’ll make you and the songs you want to play sound good. The biggest drawback here is that you’re getting a laminate top rather than a solid one, so your tone won’t be as powerful or complex as you might like. That said, you’re not going to find another guitar this good at this price. You can find the Jasmine S35 right here.

Ted Greene’s Chord Chemistry is the best book I’ve ever seen for learning guitar chords. Ted was a jazz guitar extraordinaire who knew thousands of chords, discovering many of them himself. This masterpiece of a book provides enough chords for many lifetimes of playing guitar. Even if you’re not into jazz, you’ll still find many of these shapes useful. Ted also goes into playing tips, music theory, and memorization hacks that’ll help a lot. You can find this book right here.

If you’re looking to learn music theory, I can’t imagine a better book to pick up than the Complete Idiot’s Guide to Music Theory. This book revolutionized my theory game. I’d already tried to read a few beginner-level books on theory, but this one just blows the competition out of the water. Honestly, I’m so grateful that I came upon it. Michael Miller is a brilliant writer who really understands what it’s like to know NOTHING about theory. He answers all the beginner-level questions you probably have, and he organizes the book in a logical, easy-to-follow way. The price of the book also includes an Ear Training Course audio CD! You can find this awesome music theory book right here.

On Practicing by Ricardo Iznaola If you’re looking to improve faster than ever before, I just can’t recommend this book highly enough. On Practicing is frankly the best book I’ve ever read on how to practice effectively. You may be putting the time in, but you’re probably not making the most of your time if you haven’t read this book yet. Perfect for any level of player and for any style of guitar. Iznaola’s book is short and sweet, but it’s packed full of helpful advice. This book honestly changed my guitar life. You can buy your own copy right here.

If you’re serious about classical or fingerstyle guitar (or any other style, for that matter), you stand to gain a lot from reading The Natural Classical Guitar. Ryan brilliantly combines a lifetime of guitar experience with his understanding of Transcendental Mediation and Daoist philosophy, creating a masterpiece of guitar pedagogy.

I wouldn’t recommend this one to a total beginner, but anyone else can use this book to push themselves to the next level. Ryan covers everything from effective practice to proper technique to performance preparation. If you’re like me, you’ll treasure it and return to it often. You can find this valuable book right here.

Mastering Guitar by David Alzofon Hands down, this is the most interesting and unique guitar method book I’ve ever encountered. Mastering Guitar will take you through a progressive 6-week lesson program, through the “3 Realms of Guitar Knowledge”: strumming, fingerpicking, and classical technique. The best part about this book? It combines these lessons with the interesting story of a young guitarist’s experience learning under an eccentric South American master. This method book is anything but dry and dull! You can find it right here.

If you’re looking to learn music theory in a comprehensive way, this textbook is your ticket. I can’t imagine a more in-depth introduction to theory, from the basics on how to read standard notation to interesting topics like that of atonal music. The Musician’s Guide is packed with fascinating information and brilliant analysis. Be prepared, however: this is an 800-page textbook. It’s not cheap, but you’ll get ten times your money’s worth if you make a serious study of these chapters. Perfect for anyone who wants to learn everything from the ground up, rather than cutting corners or leaving certain stones unturned. Personally, my understanding of theory would be much more superficial if I’d never gotten hold of this textbook. I hope you like it as much as I do! Check it out right here.

This is the BEST metronome in the business. I’ve had a few in the past, but none of them even come close to this model. It’s sturdy, stands on its own, has two click-sound options, an indicator light (that works if you don’t want to hear the clicks at all), and ranges from 40-208 bpm. As if that weren’t enough, it even has a built-in reference tones to help you stay in tune. My personal favorite features? This model has an amazing battery life. I’ve used it daily for years and have only changed the battery once. Also, this metronome won’t break if you drop it, which I do all the time. Like a good smartphone, it can take a licking and keep on ticking! You can get it right here.

I’ve been using this tuner for a couple of years now, and it’s my current favorite. It clips on the back of your headstock and remains hidden from sight while you’re playing. This stealthy little fellow also has a nice, easy-to-read display and a simple off-on button. Nothing overly complicated here. The best thing about this tuner is that you really can’t lose it. Given that it clips onto the guitar but stays out of sight, there’s never a reason to take it off the guitar. This means you won’t ever misplace your tuner again and waste time looking for it (or money on a new one). You can order one online right here.

I like this stand because it’s simple and yet perfectly functional. Many stands I’ve seen look like something from a metal junkyard, but this one is made of wood (zebrawood, to be precise)! The biggest perk of this guitar stand is that it’s fully adjustable. It’ll fit any kind of guitar (acoustic, classical, electric) as well as ukuleles, cellos, and banjos. You can grab one of your own right here.