Hey Goose, good question. As with any part of this sport nearly everyone has their own combination.
Lights - the most common are halogen flood lights/ work lights. You can pick up fixtures almost anywhere and they're pretty cheap. The fixtures usually come with 500 watt bulbs but you can get lower wattage bulbs that will allow you to get more lights from the same amount of generator. (I use 225W ultras made by GE)
Generators - wow there is such a huge price difference in generators. There is also a big difference in noise. Usually there is a direct corellation between price and noise. (High price = lower decibels)
Next problem is that manufacturers don't measure decibels the same. Do your homework before you buy one.
My suggestion here is buy as quiet a generator as you can afford. Never more than 74 Db.
That said we have found off brand generators for < $250 and sometimes < $200 that are fairly quiet. I had one for two years and treated it VERY harshly. It ran great up until it blew. [:@]I have to wonder if I'd treated it better, if it would still be runnin'.
Hope this helps.