How to get to the Material tab of the properties window? Each tutorial for coloring and painting mention a Material tab, that icon never shows on my screen. How do I get to this option?
Select an object and make it active. Either click on it in the 3D View, or select it from the Outliner

If nothing is selected, or if the active selected object doesn't support materials (for example a lamp, empty or camera etc) no material tab will be displayed.