In my opinion, a good text book is needed. Wolfe's 1958 edition is a very good book to purchase. It is the first year that it was translated into English and it wasn't adulterated as were other books printed later on when profit margin became more important than beer quality.
Art and science are involved with producing quality beer. It is better to build a firm foundation of knowledge which is needed in order to brew quality beer and to fully understand the how's and why's.
It is not a bad idea to purchase a decent pH meter and thermometer. The lautertun and fermenting vessels are the most important pieces of equipment, do not scrimp on them. The rest are only pots and pans that hold liquid. Purchase a good mill, do not rely on a shop keeper to crush grain. When you crush your own grain, by the sound of the mill you will learn how real crunchy sounding grain and grain that doesn't make a crunchy, crackly sound, react enzymatically during saccharification and conversion. Purchase the finest malt, all malt is not created equally. Always use a malt data sheet before deciding on brewing a style of beer, one accompanies each sack of grain produced. A brew master needs it and for that reason it is produced when malt is being tested. However, many home brewers do not know that one exists.