: Starting out on the guitar. What are some good options for learning to begin making music? I would like to learn to play guitar on at least a rudimentary level. What are my options for a really good, easy, and motivating

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I've been teaching myself guitar on online platforms for 5 years now. Also, ever since, I have visited only a single offline lesson which I did not enjoy and thus did not resume. In this regard, I only can give you advice which refer to online courses. Moreover, my advice is mainly based on my personal experience, hence subjective.
On online platforms such as YouTube, there are plenty guitar teachers who provide free lessons. Most often, if you like to, you can become a premium member and enjoy some additional benefits. Now, just to name two very popular teachers, there are Justin Sandercoe and Marty Schwartz. They appear to be the godfathers of online guitar teaching on YouTube and have been for many years in this business. This does not have to mean, that you might find them to be good teachers.
That being said, I have started to learn guitar with Justin Sandercoe's website justinguitar.com. Unlike many YouTubers and online guitar teachers I have dealt with, Justin Sandercoe has established a very structured guideline for guitar teaching.
There, you start with the most fundamental chords (open chords) and proceed step by step to a higher complexity. In my opinion, the steps he has provided were very often the right amount of new information, which is essential if you want to progress. Apart from that, he is a professional musician and focuses from the very beginning on right techniques in order to avoid wrong habits.
I would suggest, that you start with the fundamental lessons of grade 1 and progress to the higher grades. Everything for free as mentioned above. And once you have become more advanced there are higher modules which teach jazz, rock or other genres.

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I've been playing guitar for a while and teaching privately, in person and on Skype, for many years (decades). I am sure there are great online resources out there but you need to be careful of a few issues.

I have seen many self teaching sites that claim to know a trick to get you playing your favorite song fast. This may very well work for some people but I suspect when it does there is no real correlation between the method and learning. It could be serendipitous. In general I'd steer away from this.

Likewise I've seen sites where they disparage other methods to promote their own. In general I detest this approach to selling a product. If your product is good it will speak for itself. Again, I'd steer away.

In general no matter how professional an online platform is there is NO way to get feedback, unless they offer professional review of videos of you playing and even then that approach has limits. To really learn guitar correctly it helps to have a professional (or experienced) player guide you so you don't develop bad habits, poor posture, and sloppy technique. This is very difficult to do with a video since you are not interacting with the teacher. Again, no matter how much we try to explain how things work things get lost in translation or misunderstood. Human interaction is key for this type of learning.

I would try to look for free trials on sites, or sample lessons, before paying for a membership. Just like shopping around for a good doctor, car dealership, etc. you may need to go through a few before finding the right fit. People don't always gel and this goes for online people too (yes I said that).

There are professional players and organization out there that have online academies. It may be worth looking into whether there is one in your area. That way, when the quarantine settles down, you have the option of going in for a personal session occasionally. I would guess that these are more expensive but might be worth it.
From your post it seem like you looking to have fun with guitar playing as a hobby. That's great, but it is still worth learning correctly. If your hands are already "old" playing incorrectly will age them more, vary fast. There is a lot of bad info out there and it's hard to tell when you first see it. When people are self taught there is a natural resistance to being corrected. It isn't perceived as help but more as criticism and that's unfortunate. People emulate their favorite guitarist (for me as a kid it was Jimmy Page) and this can lead to problems. I wish you good luck finding a resource but my advice is look for a personal instructor at least for a short while.
I'd like to add one thing after reading through the comments. Many instructors put resources online but with the intent of having it available for students as a supplement to lessons. I don't doubt that there is great content online but it is way too easy for a beginner to completely misunderstand and misuse it. I know several who will offer access to their lesson material for a one time fee (usually not more than 0), but you're on your own once you get it. As for paying for an online academy, be sure you read the contract before paying. If you can pay as you go, or month to month that isn't bad. But some might require a year in advance non-refundable. I realize you are asking this community to do some of the leg work for you but we don't endorse specific products.