You've gotten a ton of good advice. We first got chickens for eggs and because they're entertaining, so I was in your shoes not long ago. 50 chickens later, I have a few thoughts. Most have already been mentioned.
Nothing lays like a leghorn. You hear that a lot but it's true. If you don't like the pure white or want a less flighty version, there are a few colors and austrawhites are more docile - just leghorns mixed with australorp.
Unless you're going to be breeding a specific breed you like, don't be afraid of hybrids. Olive eggers, easter eggers, true blues and all the other hybrids get love here a lot for a reason. They're some of the most interesting birds.
I love orpingtons and brahmas. They're giant, beautiful, sweet - and they eat. A lot. Just keep in mind that larger breeds eat more and may lay less and what that means in feed cost/egg ratio - especially if you're softies like us and don't raise dual purpose birds to eat. I write this as someone with 10 very spoiled orpingtons.
Other than the leghorns for productivity, we really love a couple breeds. Cream legbars lay lots of blue eggs and have fun personalities. Barnevelders are beautiful, docile, and lay a darker brown. Wyandottes, rocks, etc are all great too but those 2 have stood out for us.
As for a rooster, temperament should be the primary criteria - especially if he's going with a mixed flock. There are so many options. A hybrid EE or OE roo might be worth considering. I like our lavender orpington roo but he's BIG. The best natured boys in our flock are our silkie roos. They're good to the girls and people - but they don't do much flock protecting when they can hardly see past their own crests. It just comes down to what you want/need.
Good luck figuring it out and enjoy the journey. It took us months of debating and our first birds ended up being a rare assortment from Meyer Hatchery - because we still couldn't decide on individual breeds. Kinda still want one of each.