I wanted an Oscilloscope for years, my wife insisted that I buy a new simply because it will be under warranty and is going to come calibrated. I regretted spending the extra money right up until the box arrived. But now I’m glad i did, its small, easy to move, easy on the eyes (LCD is so much nicer then the old tube), the recording features have come in useful and finally it works every time (no surprises).
I got the Tek TDS 2022B and id recomand it to anyone http://www.tek.com/products/oscilloscop … 0_tds2000/ (it comes with 2 probes).
Ive used a variety of scopes and Ive really never had problems with any of them but i do find Tek or a HP to be the nicest to work with overall.
Some great info on what to look for:
http://www.picotech.com/applications/os … orial.html
Lastly, if your just getting started get yourself a good soldering iron http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/produc … ucts_id=85 is the BEST iron I’ve used, it outperformed my works $300 station AND the tips last 10 times longer then a generic iron. A good iron is by far the best thing you could do for yourself when you first get into electronics work.