As someone who is doing this same research, my advice is All-Clad for stainless steel pots and pans with stainless steel (not glass) lids. Pick up a 12” Lodge Cast Iron or Matfer Bourgeat Carbon Steel pan along with a Le Creuset Dutch oven and you’re set. You can find a lot of this stuff used on Facebook, offerup, or eBay. I always recommend buying used. Purchasing used is more ethical and environmentally friendly than new, even if these are great companies. People are often selling crusty looking vintage Le Creuset for cheap- with a little elbow grease they can easily be brought back to life.

Edit: Check out Marshall’s, Homegoods, TJ Max, and Ross. They all carry All-Clad and you can pick them up and touch them to make sure they feel good in the hand. I found an 8” All-Clad d3 on clearance at Marshall’s for $48 and an 8” Lodge for $11.

Edit 2: I see they would be gifted to you. You can even put on your registry that you prefer “second-hand” versions of the pots and pans you like. Maybe you have specific family members that love to thrift shop. Give them the 3 above mentioned brands and tell them to go nuts!