If they were available when I was starting out I would have bought a Line6 M13 or M9 and never looked back. All the pedals I've ever used or wanted are in them and I would have saved a ton of money in the long run. Yes, I do have some cool individual pedals that I've gathered over the past 30 years, but I can't fit them all on one board so I don't use many of them. All I use these days other than a looper (best investment you can make), and occasional pedal for recording, is the Line6 M13 or M9.

Pedals are not necessary, but if you like coloring and exploring then they are useful tools. Having different distortions other than just your amph is fun, but it really depends on what you are doing. There are a lot of bad-*** players that just run straight into the amph and that is their sound. You'll have to decide who you are.