Car Seats

Okay so I feel like there’s 20 billion car seats out there and after a certain point I can’t find many differences between the 80 dollar car seat and the 250 dollar car seat. Recommendations? Also do you think infant seats are necessary or is it worth investing in the seat that will grow with them? I see a lot of convenience with having the infant seat that you can carry but I wanna hear from both sides! Safety is obviously priority #1 but also lightweight and user friendly for a first time mom lol