For years I bought the cheapest umbrella I could find, the kind with a pole that bends in any wind over about twelve miles an hour, and I replaced it every two summers like that was just a tax you pay for owning a patio. What changed my mind was flipping one over at a friend's place and finding a steel pole with a proper crank lift and ribs that didn't flex when I pushed on them. That umbrella was eight years old and still opened smooth. Mine were landfill by comparison.
If you've got nothing yet, start with a market umbrella on a steel or aluminum pole, something that tilts, with a crank rather than a pulley you have to wrestle. Skip the cheapest fabric you can find, which is usually a thin polyester that goes patchy and lets light through within a season. Look for a fabric rated for sun, something woven tighter, because that's what keeps the color from going chalky and keeps you actually in shade rather than dappled sun with extra steps. A gazebo is a bigger decision and only worth it if you've got the space and you actually use the patio enough to justify a structure that's going to sit there through winter too.
Good shade ages the way most outdoor things do, slowly and only if you let it. The pole will pit a little if it's aluminum and you leave it out in salt air, so wipe it down now and then. Fabric fades, that's not optional, UV wins eventually, but a better weave fades evenly instead of going patchy, and most are washable with a hose and mild soap rather than needing to be replaced. Close it when it rains if you can, not because a few storms will kill it but because standing water pooling in the canopy is what actually causes the fabric to sag and the frame to warp. Store the base somewhere dry over winter if it's concrete, since it'll crack if it freezes wet.
In an ordinary backyard or on an apartment balcony, plain canvas or a muted solid color sits better than a loud print, mostly because it doesn't fight with whatever furniture is already out there, chairs you've had for years, a table that's seen some weather. A cream or faded green canopy over a plastic bistro set looks more put together than matching everything brand new.
Before you buy, check the pole where it meets the base, that joint is where cheap ones fail first.