NEW HIKER

My 2 cents, FWIW.

Shelter. There are a LOT of 2-person backpacking tents out there and it can be overwhelming. But if you look at the specs, you'll find that most use similar materials for their fabrics and poles, and see that most are variations of a few basic structural designs.  Instead of focusing on a specific tent, I would focus on specs and then scour sales for tents that meet it.  A 2-person tent is a good place to start though, if you're big/tall, maybe a 3-person.  A "regular" sleeping pad is 20"x72" and, in general, a "2-person" tent will accommodate 2 pads side-by-side with maybe 6-10" buffer all-around; it's not a big space.  Don't forget to consider headroom; most 2-person tents are have peak heights in the 35-40" range, just enough to sit up straight.  The other variable is where the door is located.  It's worth going to a gear shop big enough to have a few tents set up so that you can crawl in them and get a feel for how the dimensions translate physically.

About 4 lb is the line between "ultralight" and "budget" tents.  IMO, you should be able to find a 2-person 4lb tent in the $200 range.  They generally get cheaper as they get heavier (with the exception of expedition and 4-season tents.)  I think tents are a good candidate for buying used, especially as a newbie still trying to decide what you like.  backpackinglight.com has a good gear swap forum for picking up used UL tents.  Lots of gearheads there who sell off barely-used tents.  I've bought 3 used solo and 2-person tents there, all in really good condition, for about half of the retail cost.

Sleeping bag.  I think bags are a good choice for your first "investment" purchase, meaning buying one at the top of your budget with the intention of keeping it for a long time.  For most people, a good 20-degree down bag is a good first all-purpose bag.  I include backpacking quilts in the "sleeping bag" category; whether you go for a bag or a quilt is really a personal preference thing.  Go for the highest fill-count down you can and pay attention to the bag dimensions for length, girth.  Again, it's worth getting an understanding of the specs, so that you can compare intelligently.  Learn about "EN ratings" and don't automatically trust a manufacturer's label; not all "20-degree" bags are the same.

About 2 lb is the line between "ultralight" and "budget" 20-degree sleeping bags.  I have a Western Mountaineering Ultralite bag that's rated to 20deg and weighs 27oz (5'6" length); it's one of the best bags in this category and I paid about $400 for it on sale.  The Kelty Cosmic 20deg down bag is a good budget option - weighs 2.5 lb, EN-rated to 19deg, currently priced $160 (campmor.com.)

Sleeping pad.  This is a good explanation of the 3 types: www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/sleeping-pads.html
Get an understanding of R-values.  You can spend anywhere from $20 to $200, but about $100 is the line between "ultralight" and "budget".  Don't forget to think about what you're going to do for a pillow; if it's important to you, pillows can end up being really heavy.

Backpack.  Choose one that fits you, and can hold all of your gear both in terms of volume and weight.  The latter means you should get this *last*, after you know how much room your gear needs.  Pay attention to the pack's ability to handle weight; weigh your gear and buy the appropriate pack -- this is not where you want to save weight by buying an UL pack if your gear weight doesn't warrant it.

All the other STUFF.  Don't underestimate how much all the rest of the *stuff* weighs.  Rule of thumb I use is to double the weight of the big three (shelter + sleeping bag + pad) for my "base weight" (total weight of non-consumable gear).  Weight of food, water and fuel is additional; count on 1-2 lb per day for food.