https://www.slashgear.com/1549981/top-rated-ham-radio-setups-for-beginners/
(https://www.slashgear.com/1549981/top-rated-ham-radio-setups-for-beginners/)
Can't vouch for the quality of these recommendations because I'm no expert. Perhaps Z.O.R.G., TACAIR or NT2C would care to weigh in or propose alternate recommendations?
The site is aimed at sales for a specific product set.
Please note:
"This list was selected based on recommendations from trusted reviewers."
Most, if not all UTOOBERs make bank on pimping a product set and most will rarely admit to the $$ or swag they make from the 'supplier.'
At least some of the hambones admit to taking swag - like Ham Radio Crash Course.
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It is a bit of a pain, but sites like QRZ.com - free to use - have posts from actual users.
Some ham UTOOBERS do run tests with real test equipment and show you what they find.
(example - Baofeng UV5R Spectral Purity Test - Ham Radio Q&A (youtube.com) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgHl9MRAgYQ)
Baofeng UV-5R Harmonics Test with TinySA (youtube.com) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nz_8Eoi94hk)
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Also the GROUPS.IO pages (like HW8@groups.io | Home (https://groups.io/g/HW8) ) have a wealth of data on many radios and are worth the time to wade through before spending. esp if we are talking real money.
I can't say anything bad about any of them, as I've never used those particular models. They're all reasonable equipment from mainline vendors. Outside of the Yaesu FT-4XR, other equipment is needed to get on the air. Both the mobile and base station need and external 13.8V DC power supplies. You could run either one of them off a vehicle supply, but the IC-7300 would likely require you running a dedicated power line to if from your battery. You need antennas as well for both the AnyTone and the ICOM. VHF/UHF antenna selection is relatively straight forward and would likely cost $100-200 with a mount (for a vehicle). HF antennas are a different topic entirely and you can end up spending thousands on them if you put up a tower.
What I really would suggest is spending the time to understand what you want to do with your communications set-up before you buy anything. The FT-4 and AT-778uv are both analog (FM) radios - so if the best local repeater is digital (DMR for example) you can't use them there.
Think of it this way - if someone were to ask, "what's a good hunting gun?" Most experienced hunters would in then ask, "what do you want to hunt?" Chances are you're not going to use the same gun for rabbits, ducks, deer, bear, moose and elephants. Radios and (especially HF) antennas are the same and need to be tailored to what you want to do with them.
I'd also strongly suggest for new aspiring Hams to find a local Ham to act as a mentor. It's also likely that someone in a local ham community would be willing to lend you equipment until you know what you're doing. That way you don't end up spending hundreds or thousands on equipment that doesn't fit your needs.