My advice:
-Don't get a no-name brand kit.
-Don't worry about the cymbal quality at all. I've played in bands with shitty cymbals, and no one cares. The difference is almost completely preferential, and if you're looking at that range, that's the last thing you need to worry about. Plus, cymbals do break. So I honestly don't invest much money into them anyway.
-For starting out, get something with a bass drum, snare, hi-hat, crash, two toms, and a floor tom. Maybe also a ride. The reason you should get those pieces is because it's standard, and if you want to learn it's best to learn on that. You can decide on one tom or two, bells or whatnot once you can play this.
-For $300-$400 I think you could probably get the bottom end of a good brand if you look hard (like Pearl or Tama even) or a decent used kit from the same brands.
-I would recommend getting a book of rhythms and rudiments and learn how to read them. Even chill out on the set for a while and do the boring stuff on the snare or a drumpad. You know, paradiddles and crap. It's like scales; you have to learn it to get better at some point.
Something like
this should work. Just look at ratings and read tons of reviews. Don't settle, because there
are good kits for good prices. Also, spend as much as you can on it. Drums aren't something that you can completely upgrade for Christmas, so go as high as you can with the actual drums (again, don't worry too much about the cymbals - yet).
Also, look for sales, just like any instrument. Potentially saves hundreds.