A must have piece of equipment for soups is the Dutch Oven. A generic pasta pot just doesn't cut it. You need that enamel-coated cast-iron, good for searing the meat at the start.
Doesn't need to be those $400 Le Cruesets (although I want one badly).. Just one from Amazon for $60. Make sure it's 5-quarts minimum, but preferably 6 or 7-quarts.
And all of your larger chain grocery stores will have a small magazine section. 99% chance they will have a seasonal "Soup and Stew" magazine from Food Network or something similar. $10, for 80 recipes. Sure, you can find them all online, but I've found the if you really want to expand your cooking.. you need to READ through recipes, not just google the ones you want to make. You'll never see something like Beef noodle soup above.