[donut]

Auto darkening, nice but not necessary. Old school flip down still effective.
Good gloves, sleeves of some sort, safety glasses...

Actually easiest (and what I'd recommend), take a class at the local school. Even a night class can give you the basic knowledge, then you can decide what you need. Arc, MIG, TIG all have one thing in common, puddle control. Once you have that, you've got it nailed.