$130?????

Save your money. A brush to some degree is a brush. At the end of the day, it will not help you paint better. Only practice will do that. Save you money and use it on paints, canvas, various media etc. Heck, I could spend your $130 and you will have a more extensive things to play with.

That said, I would buy modestly priced brushes. You are going to trash them while you learn so do not spend a lot of money on them. I really like Soft Grip brushes. They all costs the same price regardless of size and they hold up well. But again at the end of the day brush preference is down to you. You may like the really cheap ones or you may like the expensive ones. Once you have learned basic techniques, then if desired, toss more money at the brushes.

I’m with Carol here – like the same brushes and discard when they lose their points or fray!
Acrylics are really hard on brushes – I have really good ones too and seldom use them!
If you’ve been trying for a while you may well take note of which sizes you favour, so don’t be persuaded to buy lots you may never use!

Personally I seldom (never?) buy anything branded by a painter – like brushes or paints etc – there’ll be a mark-up for the name and other stuff is just as good!

I agree. Don’t waste the money. I’m hard on brushes and go through a lot of them. I have found one specific brand at a dollar store that I like a lot. They have sharp edges and sharp points but are not stiff. Perfect for me and I’ve been using them for years so am used to them.

I always get paint in the ferrule (the metal cap holding the bristles) which ruins the brush quickly. I don’t invest in cleaner to dissolve it since they fray quickly anyway, I’m not sure it works that well and the brushes don’t cost much. I buy a lot of this particular brand of brushes when I find them because they sell out quickly. (Other artist have discovered then too I had a lot of trouble grabbing one particular large brush that I really like at this dollar store. When they got them in, I was there when they opened and bought 25! lol! They are only $1.50 each for the large or for a package of 2-3 smaller ones.) The tiny brushes are usually only good for 2-3 paintings, then I toss them out. I keep a few large ones for scrumbling and dry brush blending but they quickly lose their sharp edge. I sometimes use foam brushes for a smooth background without brush strokes. I use them for sealing too. I have also been known to use the scissors and trim a brush to my specific requirements. Worked very well.

Anyway, you don’t need to spend a lot on brushes. I have had very expensive brushes and found them to be no better, since getting paint in the ferrule ruins them just as quickly as cheap brushes. However, If I used very expensive brushes, I would also buy various cleaners to properly dissolve the dried paint in the ferrule and to condition them. Expensive brushes open up a whole other discussion on care and are way too much trouble for me!

These are so cheap I use them for other things, as well, like cleaning out the coffee grinder or loaned to hubby for pastry, etc. etc.

lot of good advise here. I buy good brushes but i need to see them in person and feel them. They run from $5 to $15. maybe more at times if I have to buy a big brush like a three inch one but i do not use that one but to vanish or use one to gesso . i do not use the same brush if it for vanish that that all it will be for . The gesso one I will use to paint with also but not too often i use that big of a brush to paint with.
so buy brushes a little better than the cheap ones. and if you need a liner get a good one at a higher price as it will be worth it

I bought similar brushes that looked like the one suggested by Jerry and they work fine for me. also some cheap hardware brushes (1/2/3 inch) for back ground or larger work , gessoing etc…
why spend $$ when starting out & learning..

US Art Supply 16-Piece Long Handle Bristle Hair Artist Paint Brush Set with Carry Case – mine seem a bit nicer than the photo on Amazon tho… I can abuse them with out worry .. I use for Landscape/seascapes mostly, if you plan to do a lot of detail work then something else is needed..
https://www.google.com/shopping/product/641173417878966853?sclient=psy-ab&biw=1352&bih=620&q=us+art+16-Piece+Artist+Brush+Set+-+Zippered+Case&oq=us+art+16-Piece+Artist+Brush+Set+-+Zippered+Case&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.&bvm=bv.139782543,bs.1,d.cGc&tch=1&ech=1&psi=ekVCWK-5HduqjQPo_p6QDw.1480738171607.5&prds=hsec:online,paur:ClkAsKraX7CgI2g0PWMpjEfV9PgIXWwdXoq499smY0heBsXOgc6gZHy3u062t5ajeNcEchEupuYr0nievNrfRSVQDJ_UMt9uxiYQ-yCMGbOC1YWoJ3sS0jd_URIZAFPVH71jeN6oqDBKN6TbgSkHoUtAKTr_XQ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjBuPD5ldfQAhVlxVQKHTTbDvYQ2SsIPQ

I really feel like what brushes you buy should be largely based around which style of work you prefer to do. For me I like an all purpose workhorse brush most of the time, my preference are definitely the Princeton Catalyst Polytips, (6400 line of Princeton brushes) a good blend of bristle types provides a durable, inexpensive synthetic bristle that feels like a natural hog hair in a lot of ways. They do not carry large bodies of water like a watercolor brush so I do not like them for washes, but a handful of various different brushes can give you all the range of utility you might need from the brushes. I own 5 of them, and use them for all kinds of media and clean them as needed between uses.

I do keep a cup of water that my brushes just sit in when I am working on a piece, and just toss whatever brush I am not using into that water. Reshaping my tips has been easy if they get distorted. A small tip for brush care is adding about 5% by total volume of rubbing alcohol to your water for your brushes, it will help dissolve acrylic paint that is in your brush, just make sure to squeeze out the water before reloading it with paint (because it will also keep your acrylic paints open longer or reopen passages of acrylic paintings).