Many people ask what tools they need to get started with woodworking. It is an interesting question with no specific or correct answer. Some may say that you need to buy many shop fixtures up front, some might say to start with hand tools. I personally think a mixture of the two is best. Both have their places and there is no one tool that will accomplish every task you need to get done. Of highest emphasis, save yourself the trouble and purchase only the best quality tools. Even if they seem simple, there are huge differences. The extra premium is worth it. They last longer, have better features, and make the whole experience less about the tool and more about getting things done and having a good time. If I were to set up a shop today knowing what I know, this is what I would do.
Hand Tools-
The first tool I would buy is a set of nice chisels. I would start basic and get only 2-3 sizes like 1/4″, 1/2″, and 1″. You can do so much with a set of sharp chisels including rough cutting and fine joinery. It has always been and continues to be a mainstay.
I would then buy a saw. A general purpose one would get almost everything done at first. If you needed a suggestion, a dovetail or coping saw would be up there especially if you are following my advice for a mix of tools.
The next essential tool would be a hammer or mallet. You need to be able to hit your chisels to do fine and clean chopping, and sometimes you just need a little more force to accomplish your task in assembling or otherwise. Make sure it’s a finishing hammer with a flat face and is comfortable in your hand.
Next you will need a set of screwdrivers.
Engineer square- Doubles as a square, ruler, and level. Great bang for the buck. I prefer a 16″ versus a 12″ if it’s going to be a mainstay.
Clamps- I love handscrews. They are able to acheive serious clamping pressure and various orientations. They are more pricey than quick clamps but you can’t beat them. They can even hold panels vertical when you want to work on the edges. You really cannot have enough clamps. Personally I use handscrews and bar clamps the most.
I would get the following planes. Bench plane, low angle block plane, and shoulder plane. I use planes so often now to tweak things. The more you do woodworking the more you realize it’s less about getting things right to begin with rather than tweaking things to make them work. Planes let you shave off super thin slices to get things flat or even up uneven surfaces. They are easy to whip out and setup.
Scraper- I would get one that is rectangular and a file to sharpen it. It is great for finishing your projects quickly and for smoothing weird grained woods. You can also clean up glue and other things from the surface without the dust of sandpaper.
These are the handtools I use on a regular basis and would consider essential.
Wood Surgeon 
Three tools I use on every project, besides some that you mentioned: A marking gauge, a honing guide for sharpening my chisels and plane irons, and most importantly to me a Jack plane. Everybody talks about the smoother but I use the Jack many times during every build for cleaning up tooling marks, flattening sides, jointing boards for smaller glue ups, and taking down any high spots. The smoother usually only comes out at the end of the build and is only used briefly if at all.
Thanks for the comment!
I also use those three items mentioned in various respects and understand their importance. However, the functions of these items can be matched with use of other tools or even be created in the shop using scraps. For the marking gauge, I originally used the engineer square and the marking pin that came with to scribe. That along with the square was my original marking gauge. For honing, I used and still do, a graded set of sandpapers placed onto a machined flat surface such as the table saw. I guesstimated the edge until I got a honing guide but this was a rather successful technique to obtain a reasonably sharp edge. The jack plane is precisely what I was talking about when naming a bench plane. The overlap between the low angle block and the scraper cards makes up for the use of a smoother in my opinion.
I have to be honest and say that I do not enjoy sharpening at all. But the paradox is that I do enjoy hand work and in my opinion the real key to hand work is sharpening. I’ve tried to sharpen freehand with a lot of mixed results. I have a Veritas guide that has really improved my sharpening and also a basic side clamp guide that I really only use for my smoothing plane anymore. So that is the main reason I include a honing guide in my essential tools list. Just FYI but I use water stones: 220/1000/8000. I’ve never tried sandpaper except for pocket knives. As far as the Jack plane, I have a LN and it is by far the best and most useful handtool I’ve ever purchased and used. I have a couple of scrapers but I don’t often use them because I am not great at sharpening them so I get mixed results but I would certainly consider them an essential tool for woodworking.