On equipment for making beats that's really up to you. Don't ask someone what should you get, list a few things you're interested in and ask if it's good. But don't only go by what people say, go down to your local music store (Guitar Center if you have one out there) and just play with the equipment.
Check out some: Drum Machine, Synth, Modules, Turntables, Software, MIDI Controllers, etc.
It all depends on what type of music you want to make.
MrBoogie: Don't settle for a piece of equipment because it's cheap. You this "You get what you paid for"...Buying low end equipment doesn't mean you're going to get something good out of it because you won't. That's why I say get the DMP3, it's a little cheap but it actually gets the job done. You can always upgrade your preamp. It's best to start out small then work your way up to the high end equipment. The Audio Buddy is a preamp that I don't normally see get suggested to people. GC won't even suggest it, I asked them for a good preamp and they started running off about 737SP, Voicemaster Pro, ISA 200, etc. I think you get what I'm saying now.