Guitar player (almost exclusively acoustic guitar)for 29 years. Played semi-professionally for 20 of those years: 5 albums, travelled around the north-east, etc.

I highly recommend Taylor guitars: even their bottom of the line "Big Baby" model plays well and sounds good.

A suggestion: be sure to get knowledgeable advice on selecting and setting up your guitar. Some "big box" stores take the guitar out of the shipping box and put it on the display rack. It is vitally important that the guitar action (string height, neck arch, nut height) be properly set. Otherwise, you may find the instrument practically unplayable and think you are to blame when in fact it is the guitar.

In this respect learning guitar is very similar to archery: a "pro-shop" costs more, but it is money well spent to get started properly. Unless you have a very capable friend who can perform guitar set-ups, etc., spend the extra money to have a qualified luthier set your guitar for your use.

Another suggestion: start with extra-light gauge strings. You will likely want to change to light or medium gauge strings later (and have the guitar re-set accordingly) for better guitar tone, but extra-light will be much easier to play when you begin.

Hope it works out for you!