@curls if you need advice, here's our opinion: if you're on a budget, the *most important thing* is to get an iron with temperature control. I'd recommend a Hakko FX-888D, but I know Weller has some in a similar price bracket that are similar quality

if you have lots of money to spend (like if you're going to get your work to buy it, or a collective purchase for a makerspace or something), JBC is hands down the nicest soldering irons we've ever worked with, if you can afford the price tag
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@curls (we can provide more specific advice for specific contexts if you need, feel free to ask! The best choice of soldering tool is different if you want to solder big things than if you want to solder small things, for instance; the above suggestions are reasonable all-rounders but we've found the FX-888D's iron a bit too large for some fine work)
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@Felthry probably not right now but I have been looking to change out of my current solder iron. It's something I literally found in an old unused working station.

@curls I am curious if you have a model number or part number for it--or is it one of those that the handle plugs directly into the wall? (the latter is what we call a "cheap hardware store iron" and they're not worth the $5 they cost)
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@Felthry no model number, just plugs into the wall.

@curls yeah i'd recommend replacing that when you can
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@Felthry i'll add that to the purchase list

@Felthry i marked it as one of my answers because i've used them extensively in the past, so i know i can make it work for simple stuff, but the cheapo irons are by no means preferred. just prolly the first thing most folks pick up.

@patchwork we've used them before and generally just *hate* the experience

maybe we never got enough practice to get good at it, but after trying an FX-888D we've never used anything without temperature control
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@Felthry that's valid as hell. once we get our hands on a good iron (thanks again for the suggestions :3), we'll probably feel the same

@Felthry I'm only opposed to *repeated use* of cheap hardware store soldering irons. One-off use when you've got nothing else to work with? That's fine.

@LexYeen i mean if it's your only option and you need to solder something by all means, but do get a proper one as soon as you can

you don't even have to go with a $100 one (which is still a fairly cheap iron, these get expensive if you want the highest quality); hakko sells the FX-901 for $30, though it's a battery-operated iron with all that that entails, and there are only two tips available for it. it is temperature controlled though
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@Felthry Yup, that's exactly my stance on it too! If you need to solder something Now and you have no other tools, do your best with what you have and get better tools ASAP.

@LexYeen actually, i'd amend that to get better tools as soon as you can if you anticipate needing to do more soldering in the future

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@Felthry I'd be operating on the assumption that, if one has a sudden urgent need to solder things and lacks the proper tools, there's likely going to be a need to do more soldering under better conditions in the future. ;)