As a beginner I started out with a basic low end brother and have grown from there. Igot my mechanical off of overstock.com but now I use my SQ9050 from walmart and my travel, class machine and also have a TOL brother, but it was many years before I purchased. Another good machine to grow into would be the brother PC-420 off of amazon, good rating, solidly built. Janome is also another popular brand but I can't comment on them because I love my brothers