Woodwinds are expensive. Good clarinets and oboes are usually made of grenadilla or sometimes rosewood or ebony, which are really expensive, not to mention the complicated key mechanism.

A few years ago, I was looking for a wind instrument to play and narrowed my choices down to a flute or a trumpet. With a flute, the more silver the better, which also drives the price up. In comparison, brass instruments are inexpensive. I got my trumpet at a discount, because the manufacturer had forgotten to add the fancy stamped emblem on the bell. I think the discount was at least 100 €. For that, I can easily forgo the stamping.

Flutes and trumpets use relatively litte material and are mass produced in large numbers and often in reasonable quality, so I think they are good choices for beginners.

I once had a school oboe made of wood (probably grenadilla) and I really liked it, but it had a crack, so my parents rented a plastic one from a music store. I never warmed up to it and, in fact, I've never warmed up to plastic instruments, such as my recorders. I quickly gave up on the oboe, but in those days I didn't like to practice, so it was really a no-goer from the start.

Price is another good argument for the guitar: Last year I bought a solid-body electric guitar from a well-known online music store for 128 €. I paid 60 € for the setup (it has a tremolo bar, so it was more expensive than normal), 59 € for a 10W amp, 66 € for a hard case and a few euros for cables. Would I prefer a hand-made arch-top? Sure, but I am nonetheless completely satisfied and I think what I ended up paying is a bargain for an instrument. Since then, I've spent several times that on effect pedals!

There are also good acoustic guitars for very reasonable prices and you don't need an amp or cables or effects, for that matter. One recent purchase was of a resonator guitar (on sale) for 378 € and it's become one of my favorite instruments.