Ehem...

This is a favorite subject of mine, as I spend alot of time with/around hookah's.

Starbuzz is the best BRAND of shisha I've had. Pretty much all of their stuff is good.
Fantasia's "Audios Mother Fucker" is the best flavor I've ever had.

Some smoke shops will give you a deal on coals. Instead of $2 a sleeve where I buy mine in Marietta, I buy them for $15 a box, which is $1.50 a sleeve.

I bought my hookah at Anatolia (spelling), the hookah lounge by georgia state University. It was $70 with 2 flavors of shisha (250mg cans I think, something big). It's a decent hookah, but there are much better ones out there. If you're just starting out, I'd start with one of the little personal ones. They're around $30, normally easy to get started, and low maintenance.

Alot of people like to "upgrade the bowls on their hookahs. I bought the Vortex bowl, $12, it was cool i guess, but really hard to keep going. Always had to mess with it, which isn't something you want to be doing if your goal is to chill/relax.

If you feel like you need to upgrade anything (hardware wise) after you get started, start with the hose.

Oh and as far as foil goes, I bought a metal screen for my hookah that I love. $5 and you never have to buy foil again. Smoke shops should sell it, just ask.
Oh, and the best advice I can give you... DON'T PUT MILK IN THE VASE!!! Someone told me it would make the smoke thicker, which is always cool. And it did. It also turned to cheese...