Agree on the listening advice - completely impractical and useless for probably 95% of Americans. Read a lot and listen to advice here. You have an idea of the sound you might like and, as you are new, you'll love whatever you buy. Personally I don't think the incremental improvements you get (only up to a point where there are no noticeable improvements just sonic differences) on wire and interconnects is worth anywhere near 25%. Ask around here and you'll get lots of recommendations on decently priced/budget but quality speaker wire and interconnects (I swear by Straightire.com).
Get the most bang for your buck. If you're not going to get or have an LP collection don't bother with a TT obviously. If you do have vinyl read reviews there are a ton of very value-minded good TT/cartridge combos out there, new or used.
A decent sounding CD player (I'd feel safer buying new) can be had for a reasonable price (I swear by NAD for value).
Streaming: As a beginner you can't go wrong with Bluesound Node 2i streamer/DAC and can upgrade the DAC later. Plus Bluesound has a great phone control app. I use TIDAL as digital source.
Take into account the size and shape of your room for speakers and what placement requirements they have. Some want to be in the middle of the room and that often isn't practical. There's some great small speakers that can be paired with a good budget subwoofer (I like my Emotivas, again for value) and you'll be ecstatic. By all means get the most efficient speakers you can (above 90dB) and buy all the wpc you can afford in an amp but don't forget the current/power supply rating of an amp as well. Good hunting and welcome.
