My husband bought me a Janome for my birthday one year, neither of us knew much about brands or sewing, it was my first machine. He just went in and bought the most expensive one in the shop, thnking it would be the best one! I have to say that he did well on the brand, I would recommend a Janome to anyone, but it's an embroidery machine so there are a lot of features I don't use. It's computerised and is so beginner friendly, you just push a button and it adjusts everything for you and tells you what foot you need to put on for the stitch you want. It has an automatic needle threader (a must for me as I just can't focus on that tiny eye!) I say buy the best Janome you can afford. Mine is about 10 years old now and still going strong.