A lot of people are recommending Nooelec but I'd recommend starting out with the RTL-SDR blog SDR. It'll have a low PPM receiver and an SMA connector. A lot of the cheaper RTL-SDRs you get (including Nooelec) can have high PPM, non TXCO oscillators. If you're working with weak signals it can kill. There's software to allow you to tune the SDR and eliminate the PPM error but most of the oscillators with high PPM vary by temperature so if you have the SDR in different or changing environments, your calibration can cease being accurate. The SMA connector is a huge help with antennas because the built in MCX connector on many of the SDRs can be pretty fragile (I've broken a couple by accident so far). If you do get a Nooelec anyway, get one of the 0.5PPM models (I think they call them "Mini 2+" with the "+" on the end).
If you like the RTL-SDR after playing with it a while and have a bit of money ($300) I'd strongly recommend the HackRF One. I only started with SDR a few weeks ago and the RTL-SDR was great (especially for the price) but the HackRF One is a whole other level. The amount of bandwidth you can get out of it is amazing.
If you're hoping to handle weather satellites and such, you'll need to build your own antennas. They can be kinda big and you'll need line of sight to the sky most of the time so it'll work best if you have a large open area you can frequently visit. If you own a house your back yard might be good. If you're in an apartment building the roof or parking lot is probably best.
Something else that's fun to play with is ADS-B. It allows you to pick up air traffic position/altitude/speed/heading broadcasts.
If you like the RTL-SDR after playing with it a while and have a bit of money ($300) I'd strongly recommend the HackRF One. I only started with SDR a few weeks ago and the RTL-SDR was great (especially for the price) but the HackRF One is a whole other level. The amount of bandwidth you can get out of it is amazing.
If you're hoping to handle weather satellites and such, you'll need to build your own antennas. They can be kinda big and you'll need line of sight to the sky most of the time so it'll work best if you have a large open area you can frequently visit. If you own a house your back yard might be good. If you're in an apartment building the roof or parking lot is probably best.
Something else that's fun to play with is ADS-B. It allows you to pick up air traffic position/altitude/speed/heading broadcasts.