I have decided to learn how to play the guitar. I purchased a used 2008 Fender American Strat.
What strings would you suggest I use and why?

Ernie Ball slinky's 9 gauge. They don't cost too much, like 5 bucks, and they are good for bending. Sound good, feel good.

I'd start with some 0.009-0.046 strings. Lighter gauge strings are going to be easier to play since you are just starting to learn the guitar. You can try 10s after giving your fingers some time to get used to the fretting, bending, hammer-ons and pull-offs.

As far as brands, you could use the 3250 Super Bullets that the guitar ships with, or some Ernie Balls as stratrat suggested. SIT strings are also good, but I haven't used them on a Strat before.

I like the GHS Boomers and DR Pure Blues in .009 gauge. I've never used the Fender Bullets but they get good reviews. I've used the Ernie Ball strings and no complaints, justlike the GHS and DR's a little better.

The good thing about strings is they're cheap. If you don't like a set, change for something else until you find the right combination of tone and long life.

Jeff

You can't go wrong with Ernie Ball strings. Inexpensive and there is a reason that they have all those names of great guitar players on the packages. Because those guys get free strings. J/k, my favorite guitarists use them so I fell if they are good enough for them, way more than good enough for me.

As for size just experiment, I have used .008's to .013's. I love the feel and sounds of .013's but they are tougher to play but if you get used to them they can be cool. I just tried a set of .009's again after 9 months of playing .013's. I can bend the .009's way farther than I could before the .013's. Try as much as you can to find the feel and sound you want to have when you play.

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the vacuum store is a lot like the guitar store. but they do not attract the same clientele as the guitar store, cause if they did, the vacuum store would be loaded with a bunch of broke guys who just wanted to run the new vacuums.

I have used D'Addario 8-38s for over 25 years and have found that stay in tune better and keep their new string brightness much longer than most others.Don't fall for the old line that thin strings don't have as much tone as thicker ones the tone comes from your hands and the way you attack the strings.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

Thank you all for your responses. I have a good starting point now.