I love the Brother machines. Walmart sells them. I have one in use for the past 8 years, has so many stitches that i've never used. I do have 3 other Brothers and swear by them. I also have 3 or 4 singers and 14 or 15 Japanese machines that only do straight and zig zag stitches. I use them all, but for a newbie, I do think the Brother would be a good machine to start with.