Rods are a tricky thing to recommend because its very much a personal thing how the feel in the hand. Also you need to think about how often and where your going to use it. For example how far do you need to chuck?
When a rod feels right it definitely makes you fish better, with regards to accuracy etc.
There are some good little budget rods that will do the trick, but like i said you need to have a go with some on the bank.
Reels are a different matter, your talking mechanical components and so they need to be top quality, I go with daiwa.