It's important to be economically-minded when buying tools. On the one hand, you don't want to buy a bunch of tools you never end up using, but on the other hand, you don't want to be without a tool when you really need it unless you're within walking distance of a parts store or have a spare car. I find it pays to do research on a job for your specific car before working on it, and buy some tools or parts based on this research. Work your way up from basic jobs before tackling more complicated jobs. The number of tools you need will increase with complexity, as there is more that can go wrong. Also...the tool is only as useful as the user is knowledgeable about how to use it ;)
With that said, choose higher quality for tools that will see a lot of use (jack stands, jack, ratchets, sockets, torque wrench) or are a safety concern. You won't need high quality for everything, though, because some things you may only need once or twice. I have many tools from Harbor Freight which are perfectly fine for my purposes, despite the "bad" reputation of HF. Everything is manufactured to a price point. You get what you pay for, but you don't always need things to last decades if you only need to do the job once. Also know that many tools can be rented from parts stores, but you may have to contend with availability so plan wisely.
I agree with many of the tool recommendations already posted.
Watch YouTube videos of stuff. I highly recommend South Main Auto channel. Education has changed. I've picked up a lot of great tricks from South Main, including a better way to do brake pads than the messy way I was doing them before. Watching other people work on cars gives you a better feel for it, something that you either have to learn yourself (the hard way), or on the job. Save yourself the hassle, decreasing your learning time by watching the pros. Just be careful not to follow every yahoo you see :)
EDIT:
The only real way to know which tools you will use the most is experience. That being said, if you are finding yourself constantly renting a certain tool, you might be better buying it. If I had bought an inner tie rod tool a decade ago, it would have gotten a lot of use. I finally bought one about the time I stopped really needing it, as I no longer work on my parents' cars.... Try to be savvy, but don't beat yourself up too much if you make a mistake with tools, just learn and move on. Cars are expensive no matter what, but I'd rather have a few slightly un-mustachian tools than be paying thousands to a shop ;)