You do not need an expensive kitchen knife. You need one specific chef’s knife, kept sharp, and everything else in the block is a distraction. If you buy nothing else, buy a Victorinox Fibrox 8-inch chef’s knife. It is $60. It is used in professional kitchens all over America because it is unpretentious, holds an edge, comfortable in most hands, and if you drop it and chip the tip you have not ruined your month.
The next knife to add, only after you have used the chef’s knife for a year: a small paring knife for peeling and detail work. The next knife to add after that: a serrated bread knife. That is a complete set. You will not need more.
The important thing that fancy knives cannot fix: you need to sharpen it. A whetstone once a year, or a honing rod every couple of weeks. A dull expensive knife is more dangerous and less useful than a sharp cheap one. Beginners always overbuy on the knife and underbuy on the sharpening habit. Reverse that ratio. The $60 knife plus $30 of maintenance kit is a better cook than the $300 knife left to rot.