See, I'm confused because I read that the term and concept of "feudalism" is fabricated and false so I've lost my entire basis for the time period really. I need to get rid of the misconceptions about Medieval society and to get an accurate, if general knowledge of life in the middle ages, economically, military, socially, the whole deal.
So where should I start researching? I'm a student so I can't really throw money around at more expensive books. If it's any help I really just need to know about Western Europe.
Edit: Specifically the High Middle Ages
I'm a student so I can't really throw money around at more expensive books.
Well, sure--most of us can't; academic books can be crazy expensive (Brepols, I'm looking at you). That's why libraries exist! Here's an awesome post on how to get access to fancy academic literature even if you don't have privileges at a university library, at least for the U.S.
AskHistorians has a great booklist and the [medieval section] (https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/wiki/books/europe#wiki_middle_ages) is darn good. If you only want to read one book, I would recommend above all William Chester Jordan, Europe in the High Middle Ages. It's the Penguin History of Europe volume for that era, Jordan is a fluid and engaging writer, and you can get the book for $10 used, with shipping, off Amazon. Ideally, I would pair that with Peter Brown, The Rise of Western Christendom, which looks at the early Middle Ages. It will give you a solid setup.
If you're willing to give it a bit more effort (read: pages of reading) but with better payoff, I would pair Robert Bartlett, The Making of Europe and R.W. Southern, The Making of the Middle Ages.