For little money you can't beat the Lee 4 hole turret press. You use it as single stage or turret, it is well made and the cost is reasonable. I would say it is best bang for the buck for someone just starting out. My progressive press is RCBS and I can't give it a glowing recommendation like you will see for Dillon or Hornady, but it works, I have loaded thousands of rounds and it was cheap. I guess it all depends on how much you want to spend, how much you want to reload. My RCBS press is probably not anywhere near as fast as a Dillon, but I have tons of ammo that I reloaded ready to go that I made on it. Again, it all depends on what you want.
Yep, I started out on a 4-hole turret with aspirations to upgrade to a big dog dillon in the future. Well, here I am still using the Lee turret with the indexing rod removed. I like being able to set up my dies and swap calibers in seconds. I do have to fiddle with the settings now and then but that's mostly on the 9MM dies as I switch between 147gr and 115gr plinking stuff.
I also use a el-cheapo Lee measure that has worked superbly. It meters perfectly once setup and cost a fraction of the nice ones. Sure, i'd like to get one of those when it gives up the ghost but as long as it works I'll use it.
Biggest key is to start of with as little automation as possible. You can upgrade to speed up the process later. Sure it may be a little more out of pocket but a)you will have a back up when something breaks and b) you will beuild a greater understanding of the process and hopefully develop a methodical and safe reloading process. Don't go any faster than your knowledge-in loading speed and velocity.
With my 4-hole I can pound out 200 rounds for a comp in about an hour and a half if I have brass prepped. Just prime, charge, and seat.