I’ve never played an instrument before, and I’d like to play guitar. But does it hurt your fingers? How long does it take to learn it for an average person? Where can I get a cheap but good guitar online? (most of us are pretty much hurting on the money situation, as you probably know)
Which is better a guitar or a piano?
Thanks much xx 
Great to hear your considering learning to play guitar. Personally, I prefer guitar to piano. See, I took piano for about a year, but I never really had fun doing it. The only time I actually found myself practicing was at my lesson. So I decided to learn to play guitar, and it was a great choice. Ive been playing for 3 years now. Really, the pain when playing guitar goes away after the first month, so that’s no problem(if your practicing!). For me to actually learn a song and be confident other people would think it sounded good took about 4-5 months, and the time goes by fast. If your looking for a good guitar online, you might want to check out Ebay or Craigslist, just do a little Research on the guitar before you buy it. Now I see that your considering acoustic guitar, but Ive got to say, electric is undoubtedly easier. On an acoustic guitar, the strings are much farther away from the neck when compared to an electric guitar, making it harder to play because you have to press down harder. Now if you want, you can go to a local Guitar Center and check out some of the starter sets they have. You will get a guitar, an amp, some picks, a chord, and sometimes a beginners book for around 200-300 dollars. Heres a list of good beginner guitar brands: Squire, Epiphone, Dean, Ibanez, Gretsch etc.
Hope this helped!