I agree. But One thing I’ll say when it comes to acoustics is that some of the dirt cheap models can have pretty terrible action (the strings are so far from the fretboard), which can make it tougher to play notes/chords and just to press the strings down in general, especially for beginners. Electric guitars are a lot easier to play, as far as being able to play notes/chords with little finger pressure.
You definitely don’t need to spend a fortune or anything. There are plenty of reasonably priced acoustics that have good action. And it can also be adjusted (most of the time). But it’s something worth paying attention to IMO. On some cheap guitars I’ve seen there’s really not much you can do to fix the action if it’s bad.
Like you said, just go to the store (someplace like guitar center is what I’d recommend if you have anything like that around), play a bunch in your budget and pick the one you like.