Just my 2 cents worth,
If you are just getting into GMRS and aren't into Ham radio at all, the most budget friendly radios are going to be the Midland or one of the Chinese radios.
I've never dealt with the Midlands and am a Ham so my setup may not be the norm for most. However, as to the various Chinese radios, a lot of them are rather tough to get support on because they are only supported from China.
My personal recommendation for radio brand would be the Btech's! Yes they are manufactured in China BUT, they are supported (by an awesome customer service team!) here in the USA!!!!!
They best reference material you will probably find for an impartial tool to decide would be Miklor's site!
https://www.miklor.com/
Find what does what YOU want to do and makes you happy!!!! Don't worry about what others think or want you to do or get!
73
WRDC573