Hey there! This is my favorite thing to work with on a Mac. I would be happy to help.
First, reset the NVRAM and SMC.
Then, you will need to completely format the internal hard drive. When you stick the USB installer in the Mac, hold the Option key while starting. Here you will see the USB drive "Install macOS High Sierra" in startup manager. Click that, and click the arrow to boot from the USB drive.
Once loaded, head into Disk Utility. Here, you will need to click the "view" button, and "Show All Devices." This way, you can see the drives and partitions. Check your internal hard drive, click it, and then "erase." When formatting a drive, you need to use a GUID partition map (this will make a hidden EFI partition, and it will allow macOS to create more partitions during the installation [such as Recovery OS]). And, you need to format it in APFS. (A quick note here, if you are using a standard hard disk, use macOS Extended. The solid state drives do better with APFS.)
After formatting, Quit Disk Utility and click "Install macOS" (or Reinstall macOS). You can then follow the steps to reinstall macOS. Unlike dosdude1, the Mac will restart several times while installing. Eventually, you will see the Setup Manger, and you will setup your Mac as if it was new. You also won't need to Post-Install Root Patches (as macOS is natively supported).
As for the Solid State drive: I would recommend Kingston. I have a MacBook Late 2008, and it runs great with that solid state drive. Just note, you may have to activate TRIM support after installing macOS. Simple head into Terminal and type sudo trimforce enable. You will need to hit the Y key multiple times, and eventually the Mac will restart. Then, head into the Apple Menu > About This Mac > System Report. Then, scroll down to SATA, and check TRIM. Here, it should say Yes if it is enabled correctly.
Okay, hopefully this gives you an idea on where to go. Feel free to drop something in the comments if something does not go as expected. Best of luck!
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