CD40xx and SN74xx logic gates not working correctly
Ok, let's start off with what you should have bought.

It's better (in my opinion) to start with the 74 series as they are less prone to static than the 4000 series.  The HC subset is the "norm" nowadays unless you have specific requirements.  So, some good ones to start with:


74HC00 - Quad NAND gates (4 2-input NAND gates)
74HC04 - Hex inverter (6 NOT gates)
74HC08 - Quad AND gates (4 2-input AND gates)
74HC32 - Quad OR gates (4 2-input OR gates)
74HC73 - Dual J-K flip flop
74HC79 - Dual D-type latch


Other useful ones to have around:


74HC138 - 3-to-8 line decoder
74HC245 - Octal bus transceiver with tri-state outputs
74HC585 - 8-bit shift register with output latches


Now, why aren't yours working?  Well, it is highly unlikely that they are all dead unless you are very unlucky, or were doing electronics with the cat sat on your lap.  So it must be how you are wiring them up.

Since you don't show how you are wiring I will have to take a wild stab in the dark at it.

My guess is that there is 2 important things missing from your circuit (though this is only a guess):


Decoupling capacitors.  All \$V_{CC}\$ pins should have a 100nF capacitor to ground.
Pullup / pulldown resistors on inputs - just wiring an input pin to \$V_{CC}\$ through a button will not work.