Suggestions on first cb? brand, etc?

Yep! Some are better than others

 

First CB? Get something cheap. Walmart has the Cobra 19 for $35. Amazon has the Uniden Pro 505 for about the same.

If you are like the vast majority of drivers, you'll only use the CB at shippers/receivers, or to find out what's causing the backup you just found. Most of the time it's turned off.

My personal rig of choice is a bone stock Uniden 980. If you spend two minutes reading the manual, you'll find how to adjust the mic gain, and someone across the parking lot can help you find the right setting. The new Unidens have a really hot receiver; it hears better than anything short of my $1000 ham rig (which I do NOT use on CB, BTW). If you need more power, go with a good outboard amp.

Resist the urge to have a "tweak and peak" done to whatever you get. Most of the "techs" out there don't know what they're doing; they're following something they found online. What you usually end up with is a "loud and proud" radio, and nobody can understand what you're saying because you are so overmodulated that most of the "extra" power is splattering over the three channels on both sides of where you are talking.