The plug and play ones are really good if you're going to stock lightly with small, tidy fish. If you want anything big or messy or if you want to stock heavily then choosing your own filter is better. I like to set up for myself too so I've always just bought a plain tank and then added the filter of my choice.
I've got a couple of 60 litre Clearseals, they are cheap and cheerful. The metal hoods aren't too pretty but aquariums are a standard size so you could easily get a nicer looking one.
Filter-wise, I've got a Fluval 2+ which is brilliant, I've had it for years and years with no problems. You can probably still get second hand ones but they've now been replaced with U2s. I bought one a few weeks ago and so far, so good but it's still early days. I've also had Eheim filters in the past and they're a really good brand.
Heaters are all pretty much the same, for a 60 litre tank you need a 50 watt heater with a thermostat. I'd also get a digital thermometer with an alarm. They don't cost much and will let you know if your heater gets stuck on so you can avert disaster.
For lighting you need a starter unit (the box with the on switch), a bulb, and possibly clips to attach it to the hood (this may involve some drilling if the holes and clips aren't already there). It can get a bit confusing with all the jargon. T8= fatter tubes. T5 = skinnier tubes. Some fishkeepers can get very geeky about planting, adding carbon dioxide diffusers, extra lighting with 3 different sorts of bulbs etc etc. But there are loads of simple plants that you can grow with just a 15 watt T8 and no CO2 injection.
For substrate, you can either go for gravel or sand. Playsand is fine and should be cheap to get hold of now the summer is over. You'll also need to add some kind of fertilising substrate underneath the sand.
You'll need a water testing kit to test for ammonia, nitrIte, nitrAte and pH. This is a popular one. I have the Hagen Nutrafin one which is also good.
Sorry, I've rambled on and lost myself a bit 
Is that any help?