This from @conrad4 ^^^^ - the Year in Review link. You'll find a summary of the products in each category that members here were fondest of (or in some cases hated the least). 
A good place to begin.
Many of us prefer smart switches controlling dumb bulbs in built-in lighting due to simplicity and ease of use. Manual control of the light works the way it did before things got "smart" (turn lights on/off w/switch) so you don't have to teach anyone to do anything different, but now you can also control the lights using motion lighting rules, time of day lighting, and other automations.
If you have smart bulbs and a normal wall switch, if your family/visitor turns the light switch off the smart bulbs are now dead and non-controllable. Not good. 
You can buy switches (Zooz & Inovelli are two) that can be set to "bulb mode" where they work as a smart bulb controller and don't turn power to the circuit they are attached to on/off. I would only do that if I wanted some of the additional benefits of smart bulbs in a location, like changing lighting tone during the day, using the bulbs to signal issues (turn purple when laundry is done, turn red at night when an outside door is open, etc.).
Lamps and any lighting w/on-off control switches directly on them are trickier...if the built-in lamp switch is turned off you will be unable to control the smart bulb in the lamp through any means. For lamps I provide a easy to see/reach smart button that controls a smart bulb in the lamp. I had to do some coaching w/my family so they would remember to use the smart button and not to turn the light off using the normal switch on the lamp. Making the smart button much easier to reach than the lamp switch itself has been key to the success of this approach - lazy family members use the smart button because it's easier. You can also plug lamps w/a dumb bulb into a smart plug, and again have a smart button for control.
I also use lamps to provide notifications via color changes so using smart bulbs in lamps is useful for me.
I'd start with smart light switches and outlets to build a strong mesh from mains powered devices that repeat, figure out where you may need/want to use lamps and ensure you have a good plan for controlling them that 1) Family members & guests won't constantly screw up, and 2) Is compatible w/the switches you buy. Then start adding motion and contact sensors to help drive your automations. I prefer Zigbee motion and contact sensors as they tend to be fastest reporting and smaller (generally) than Z-Wave devices.
