Whenever I get that question, I always answer with Dell. (Dell.com) It's good, it's simple, and you know what you get (and you can custimize for what you want)

Then you need to look at the following things

Processor (CPU - Pent, Celeron, etc...) - Personally I find this lease important now days. Even the "lowest priced" that Dell offers is pretty darn good, and won't see much of a difference for normal use.

Memory - The more the better. 512MB VERY MINIMUM. 1GB would be good. (more if you can afford it)

Hard Drive - I think 30Gig is the minimum that Dell offers, so it reall depends on what you plan on doing. If you save a lot of music, or other stuff - then you would need a bigger hard drive. If you are a normal user without much, then 30 gig would probable be OK

CD Writer / DVD Writer - CD Writer is a must. DVD writer is nice, but would probable be cheaper to wait and buy one later if you don't need it now.

OK, that is my opinion. Have extra money, get more memory!