I kind of want to get into D&D, but there’s so many different handbooks and it’s kind of confusing. Which book(s) do you recommend to get?
5th Edition Player’s Handbook, hands down.
Without going into some type of edition wars bit, my recommendation is to find a group local that plays D&D or any other roleplaying system and buy THAT book. That way you have other people to help you with questions / ideas / awesome.
Alternately, if you are starting fresh with no one around that plays, go to a library / used book store and pick up whatever they have cheap / available.