While I do love prismacolor (mentioned in the other reply), if you're looking to save a little bit of money, I enjoy Derwent Coloursoft. They are wax based, so they do have limits on layering; however they go down easy and blend well up until that point.
(To avoid amazon, I'd order from dick blick or another art supply store)
Fred Rogers (of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood). For my generation, he helped to shape our views on kindness and compassion for humankind. He fought for public access funding in the United States. He helped break color barriers on television. He helped us enjoy jazz.
I have not encountered another media personality who was so genuinely invested in making sure that kids had the tools they needed to deal with the emotional parts of existence. I'm tearing up again thinking about how much he did for us.