For noobs trying blades, go with West Coast Shaving's
sampler pack. He even tells you which order to try them in.
Pre-shave: I don't use any particular product for this. If I'm shaving w/o showering first, I prep with a warm washcloth and will rub in a coating of Proraso cream during part of that. C O Bigelow brand cream sold at Bath and Body Works is Proraso cream in an American package. Highly recommended. I mostly use soap (Tabac, Kent, various shave sticks) but will go with the Proraso occasionally to mix it up.
Shave oil: meh. I've found it's not worth the hassle of it gunking up the blade and being hard to rinse off.
One note on lather: you see in the tutorials how after soaking the brush, you should get it dry again to load up the product. True, but don't neglect adding water back in during the mixing. I think lots of guys try to shave with the mix too dry, causing dragging and skipping.
For my money the best travel razor is the Bic Sensitive disposal. Single blade and cheap.
My daily combo is the Merkur Barberpole Slant 39c with either a Feather or Kai blade; but I do mix up blades just because I have so damn many different ones. For starter blades I'd recommend either Derby or Crystal (same blade as 'Israeli Personnas')... but the West Coast sampler is definitely the way to go to figure out your own preference.