I was able to find a 400 pretty easily. Granted, it was the kit that cost an extra $30, but that wasn't a big deal considering I got a decent power supply and micro HDMI cable with it.
What would you recommend to a beginner? I'm more than a beginner when it comes to "code" but not like professional or even advanced amateur even though I can usually figure out how to "make it work", sometimes :(
I feel that. One of my first raspberry pi projects was a magic mirror, it's basically a pi hooked up to a display and you can program in modules to display custom data, like a weather forecast for your area along with your Google calendar showing the upcoming appointments.
I'd say a raspberry pi 4B with at least 2GB of ram is fine, but upping the ram will let you do more with it.
Docker projects are also fun, like making a pihole.
These projects have lots of documentation and support, so you're always a Google search away from help.
I think as an initial go, I would recommend just getting raspbian/Linux in general onto a pi or other board, and messing with the CLI. Just having a pi and being comfortable trying things out is huge. Plus, with it being on a micro SD card, you can very easily break things and wipe the card and recreate your setup.