I agree with Chef Layne with a few small reservations; and mostly would take his points even further.
For most jobs, a chef's, paring (or petty) and serrated bread are enough. For some jobs you might need specialty meat knives and/or a slicer.
Learn to sharpen.
If and when you buy meat knives, get a breaker and/or a cimeter. Forschner is the gold standard of meat knives, and are so easily found and sufficiently inexpensive that it's barely worth considering anything else.
For everything but the chef's get Forschner -- either Fibrox or Rosewood. Anything more expensive is a waste of money until you really learn to sharpen.
Only buy knives which can be sharpened and are worth sharpening. "White handles" may represent a low initial investment, but they'll never get really sharp no matter what you do.
Learn to sharpen.
Forschner 10.25" bread knife, not the 8".
Learn to sharpen. Not send the knives to a service. Not just okay. Not "crock sticks." Not a "diamond sharpening steel." Learn to frikkin' sharpen.
A Forschner chef's knife is adequate but not good. Get a better than Forschner chef's knife. You'll be using your chef's knife A LOT, you might as well get something which stays sharp though an entire chef. If you get a Japanese made chef's knife (an excellent idea) you'll also need something heavy duty for splitting chickens, portioning ribs, peeling pineapple and the like. The Tojiro DP and Fujiwara FKM are good entry level choices.
Globals are very pricey for what they are. The steel is very soft and won't hold an edge well, at least not compared to more modern Japanese made knives. Plus, a lot of people learn to hate their handles. If you don't have a good grip you'll find that they're slippery. If you can't sharpen well, you'll find they don't generate much power. Either of those encourages over-gripping, and that causes fatigue and can lead to repetitive stress injuries. You're much better off with a Tojiro, Fujiwara or even an Artifex (sort of an uber Forschner, available at CKtG).
Learn to sharpen.
Henckels, Wusthof, Messermeister are good knives, don't get me wrong. But thick, heavy knives are not the modern trend -- which is towards lighter, thinner knives; and chef's knives that are not only lighter and thinner, but have flatter, more agile French/Japanese profiles. The trend is also towards knives which act significantly sharper than old-fashioned German knives.
Learn to sharpen.
Pros don't buy "sets." Nothing says "rookie" or FNG more clearly.
Learn to sharpen. Sensing a theme?
BDL
Disclaimer: I have a relationship with Chef Knives to Go.