Get a 12 inch Lodge, or (Griswold/Wagner) cast iron skillet.
Then pick up this Cuisinart stainless steel set (or something similar) and you'll be good for the vast majority of cooking adventures.
From there if you need more pans pick them up individually as needed. Also don't be afraid of copper. You can't cook directly on it but most of the time its used in cookware its either copper sandwiched between stainless steel because copper conducts heat a lot better than stainless.
I would absolutely advise not to get a non-stick pan for anything other than eggs....and if you do find a cheap one with decent reviews all you'll have to replace it eventually.
And for the last few pics I give you some cookware porn of pans that I dream of.
You can probably stop reading here if you're not interested.
Falk Copper Cookware. Looks really nice, heats up a lot faster than stainless. Super expensive though.
De Buyer Carbon Steel pans. Often ignored in America due to cast iron. It's seasoned and cooks pretty much the same as cast iron but is a bit lighter.
Finex - Super expensive cast iron
All-Clad Copper Core. The ease of cleaning stainless steel with some of the benefits of how fast copper conducts heat.
Staub Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven. Very expensive