For more information on mounts, click on the hyperlink for help with mounts below. Avoid like the plague adhesive tape. Many stamps have become ruined by the stains that the adhesive leaves. Although these may be all the tools that are needed for the beginner, as you delve further into philately, you will learn more about such things as perforations and watermarks. There are tools for these aspects as well.
Many people collect a country of interest.
Others collect a topic, such as horses or trains, as a theme. Others collect stamps which they find attractive. What is important is to collect what you enjoy. You can collect even the stamps that come through the mail. Just cut the stamps from the mail carefully not to slice off the edges of the stamp.