If you've never drank any whisk(e)y before in your life, i recommend starting with Irish whiskey. It is very soft and the most palatable when starting out
I can recommend the following in progressive order of taste from smooth to peaty.
Tullamore Dew Good entry level whiskey, also had their 12 yo which is a tad better than the original
Bushmills Black Bush - this is a blended whiskey, but almost tastes like a single malt - $30-35 where i come from
Bushmills 10 yo - single malt from the same distillery.
They also have a 16yo but the 10 is better in my opinion.
Their 21 yo ($100) is next on my list to add to the collection
Green Spot - this is a single pot still irish whiskey, that has just recently (last year or so) become available via export from Ireland. $50 will get you a bottle in PA and it is great stuff. I cant recommend this one Highly enough. They also have a Yellow Spot 12yo, which is not exported, that i'm itching to taste.
Red Breast 12 yo is another single pot still, and while i've not tried it, this whiskey is allegedly the best whiskey to come out of Ireland. There's a Red BReast 15 yo too.
On to scotch. Up until this summer, i was exclusively an Irish whiskey guy. Last year for christmas my wife bought me a bottle of Laphroaig Triple Wood (more details below) and I hated it. Decided in the summer to give it another go and ended up buying three more different Laphroaigs.....go figure. Since then i've added the following to the cabinet
Glenmorangie Original - Speyside - Nice entry level whiskey, a bit more complex and slightly harsher than Irish whiskey's above, but nonetheless good. They had a gift pack with glasses on sale in the store couple weeks ago for the holidays, so I picked it up, mainly for the nice glasses.
Glenrothes Select Reserve - Speyside - bought this on a whim to get a a spey side and didnt realise it was a blend. Its ok, but Glenmorangie is better
Glenlivit 18yo - wife got this for christmas last year, not drank a lot of it, but its nice. Smoother than the other stuff, but thats because its 18 year in the barrel.
Glenlivet Nadurra - bottled at cask strength of 55.3%, this 16 yo it's delightful
Bowmore 12 yo - the lastest one i added to my collection, a much softer Islay than those listed below - they say you can taste the smoke, but i can't - very smooth whisky. This is my current favorite
Ardbeg 10 yo - this is an Islay, so peaty, though not as peaty as the Lagavulin or Laphroaig. Good whiskey, though not my favorite Islay.
Laphroaig 10 yo - sweet and smokey - Very nice if you want a bit more smoke than the Ardbeg
Laphroaig Quarter Cask - stronger than the 10 yo different taste, but still good
Laphroaig Triple Wood - Liquid smoke is the term I would give this whisky.....awesomeness in a bottle.