You will get opinions like people have bumpers.
But, for quick and easy, Superstrength/Willpower.
It gives you everything you need and is useful with just SO's.
It can survive well with just the powers in the Primary and Secondary, with only two powers for travel being a "needed".
Even that can be skipped, due to two temp travel powers you get from bank missions at level 5 and 10, which should get you to your goal.
As an aside. A nightwidow would be a good bet, or a Huntsman. Personally, I hate the never go away crab pack.
210 50s and still counting!
One vote for Dark Melee/Willpower - it's a total machine solo. Debuffs, control, damage, heals, resist, defense, all in your primary/secondary.
Here's another vote for SS/Will. You get a heavy-hitter attack early, and Footstomp at 32 is worth waiting for. Rage helps you hit so you can diversify slotting more into recharge and endurance reduction.
Freedom: Blazing Larb, Fiery Fulcrum, Sardan Reborn, Arctic-Frenzy, Wasabi Sam, Mr Smashtastic.
QR
Fire/SR
This combo is absolutely sick solo. Spend some inf to get SR soft-capped and it becomes easy pesy.
i vote FM/INV but i like /inv but /will /Sd well do and i dont recommend /sr it doesnt get good tell 32+ for soloing you what something that starts strong and finishes strong.
And one more thing about /sr when it gets good it is unstopable
I have a SD brute that's a beast but only because I poured an obscene amount of inf into his build. I think if SD just has SOs or generic IOs it's one of the weaker choices. Both SD and SR are weaker than WP or Inv or Regen until the 30s and even then you need to do things like take pool powers and/or slot sets for +Def bonuses. The beauty of WP/Inf/Regen is that they perform better at lower levels and don't require sets to perform well. Since the OP mainly seems to want a quick trip to 50 I think he'd be better off with a set that wasn't a late bloomer.
EDIT: I should add that Inv does obviously have its strengths and weaknesses. You'll want to cherry-pick your enemies if your goal is speed, but that's easy to do in the MA.
Freedom: Blazing Larb, Fiery Fulcrum, Sardan Reborn, Arctic-Frenzy, Wasabi Sam, Mr Smashtastic.
The reason I like SS/WP, over most other builds that would work, is you get mitagation, fast attack times, decent overall damage, and the ability to have few glaring holes in your "armor".
Dark melee/Wp would also work by giving you a ton of options.
Fire Melee, well, just seems Meh to me. Sure it hits hard, in that rare to see it resisted, sorta way, but it really has no mitagation. Lack of knock-down or stun, leaves it on the "armor" to protect the user.
Still, seems SS/WP is for the casual user that just wants a fast road to 50.
210 50s and still counting!
If your goal is to get to 50, and do not have a tremendous amount of infamy to invest, my vote will go to SS/WP as well. Don't go with defense sets like EA/SR/Shield for your first brute. Save that for later once you've gotten the ideas.
Get hasten and rage. 3 slot both with recharge so you stack rage easily.
SS/WP is a great option for beginning brutes. You learn about mitigation and how buying some time with things like knockdown increases your survivability.
FM/EA
DM/SD
Utility and hard hitting primary powers that blend well into your secondary. The heal in DM will help tremendously as there is no heal in your secondary.
A + dmg aura, strong defense capability and defense debuff and stackable, ally buffs make shield defense a very team friendly set. You can bill yourself as a brute that buffs 
.
Words to the wise aren't necessary- it's the stupid ones that need them.
"You're right...I forgot...being constantly at or the near the damage cap is a big turn off. Definitely not worth it."
- Vitality
Electric/SD
I just like 2 teledamage powers *shrug*
[ QUOTE ]
Electric/SD
I just like 2 teledamage powers *shrug*
[/ QUOTE ]
That's the powersets of my "beastly brute" I referred to earlier. Insanely fun on teams, really horrible choice for soloing which is what the OP specified he mostly does.
Freedom: Blazing Larb, Fiery Fulcrum, Sardan Reborn, Arctic-Frenzy, Wasabi Sam, Mr Smashtastic.
What about Elec/WP? Good endurance recovery and decent damage. Willpower is still there. No good?
The problem with Elec is its lack of st damage. other then that is a good set. SS shines from self buff and great ST and Wide aoe area. DM is great for ST damage and utiliy. Fire has the best ST damage on paper. ST damage is what makes Soloing so easy.
Im loving my db/wp brute tons of fun great dps and potent aoe as well.
[ QUOTE ]
DM/SD
Utility and hard hitting primary powers that blend well into your secondary. The heal in DM will help tremendously as there is no heal in your secondary.
A + dmg aura, strong defense capability and defense debuff and stackable, ally buffs make shield defense a very team friendly set. You can bill yourself as a brute that buffs .
[/ QUOTE ]
This.
My Dm/SD got to 50 FAST, and easy, and never touched an AE mish (was before it's time lol) to do it. It was a fun and powerful toon the whole ride up. The synergy is amazing.
mace/wp
i've an ss/wp and mace/wp at 50, and i gotta say, mace performs like SS without the endurance crash, and some minor positioning for the huge cones. amazing aoe and mitigation between crowd control, shatter, and whirling mace. great single-target, too.
50s:
Grimmloch, Tactically Delicious, Ugly Frankie, Operative Tracker, CryoFurnace, Professional Help, Silver Sphinx, Aries Knight, Tachyon Aegis, Jade Sphinx
Currently building:
Any one of half a dozen alts!
SS/WP is the best to go with for first timers.
WP is obviously a solid solution for what you want to do. The primary is going to be whatever you think looks fun. I will say that if you don't want slow downs, skip SS. I have a 50 SS Brute and there's nothing I hate more than a Rage crash for 10 seconds. For some it is not a big deal, though. I believe they are fixing Rage to force the -20% defense in the crash too? Correct me if I am wrong. I would not pair SS with a defensive set after that.
Battle Axe/Fiery Aura.
Extra fiery smash.
Everyone loves flaming Norsemen.
Most brutes are fine solo.
Not all brutes are the best in large teams, AE teams, boss maps... etc, cause there you need solid AoEs to be competitive.
But solo... pick the primary you like the name the most (avoid maybe Elec/ because it's awesome at AoEs but a bit weak for single target dmg).
And for a secondary, as many ppl said, /WP is a very solid choice. Nice mitigation, nothing more nothing less than what you need to rock the solo game... and Quick Recovery at level 20 makes a world of difference.
Good luck and have fun
I forgot about Elec and definitely agree with Ehina. It's not that great for soloing.
Fire/SR was a blast on scrappers, and from what I have heard, on Brutes, it does more damage and The ability to build up his defense is the exact same. So I would put a vote down for Fire/Sr.
Yet if you really don't care or have any concept towards it, SS/WP seems to level really fast.
Rendezvous Fire/SR Scrapper 50 (Main), Sole Savior Kat/WP scrapper 50, Papillon Noir DM/SR Stalker 50
Cascavela NW 50
SS/WP.
So I'm looking to make a Brute. I mostly play solo, and only PvE. I want to get this toon to 50 asap so I can make a VEAT.
What's a good solo, fast-leveling, damage inflicting monster?