To be honest, I could have ridden a lot of bikes when I started off, but wouldn't have known/appreciated the difference between a cheaper bike and an expensive one. That might not be the case for you though!

My first bike was a Fuji Finest 2.0, and it served me well. Once I had it fit, it was a comfortable bike (although I did feel a lot of the little bumps on the road, so it isn't really a smooth ride). However, once I started riding more, and realizing what I was really looking for, I got tired of my Fuji (I feel so bad saying this...she is cast away to a corner of the garage now with BF's old bike).