go and play with some at your local gun shop... See what feels best. In my expereince most people start with one of the wonder-nine set this day and age... Glock 9mm and clones.

If you don't care about "doing damage" the ruger mark II can't be beat, VERY cheap to shoot (.22 LR). and great for target practice.

You might just want to start with the best pistol design ever... The 1911!!! I have played with alot of other pistolsand have decided the 1911 is head over heals better than the others... I just love the feel of that gun... It is the standard in target shooting as well and is chambered in .45 ACP which is more potent than the 9mm's out there.