You may be planning to work on yourself only. You may want to massage someone else. No matter what your plan, you need to have the right tools to do it well.
The products you choose to purchase all depend on you and what your needs are. If you are only planning on doing pressure point therapies like shiatsu or compression you don't need any lotion or oil. If you are planning to do some massaging that requires glide you will need to purchase massage oil or massage lotion.
Different people have different preferences. I prefer massage oil to lotion. I think it gives a better glide. I also think it's a purer product. Oil can also be used as a carrier for essential oils to do an aromatherapy massage. Lotion has a lot of other ingredients, while oil is just oil.
Massage lotion does have it's good points and many therapist prefer lotion over oil.
Muscle creams can give some temporary pain relief. There are a wide variety of muscle creams on the market. Some heat the area up and some cool it down. When using muscle creams it's important not to use too much.
Massage therapist sometimes use tools to help save their hands and also get deeper pressure. I use a wooden knobble. I use this tool often when I massage myself, especially on my forearms. There are t-bars for trigger point therapy and thumb savers, which are hard plastic sleeves you wear over your thumbs. There are also specially designed trigger point canes like the TheraCane Massager with Free 14 Page Trigger Point Owners Manual that you can use to do trigger point therapy on your own back. Product like the FENIX Deluxe Self-Care Kit can also be used to treat trigger points.
There are also motorized massagers that you can use to ease those muscle pains. Check out these Massage Tools. If you really want to sit back and relax try one of these iJoy Massage Chairs.
With all the massage supplies out there, it's easy to find what you need.