Almost every telescope recommendation follows from four answers, and none of them is about brands. Work through these and the shelf narrows to two or three instruments, at which point the printed prices decide.
What do you want to look at
The moon and the planets need resolution and a steady mount, and any aperture here does it. Faint galaxies and nebulae need aperture and a dark sky in that order. The sun needs a dedicated filter or instrument and nothing improvised. Wanting all three usually means a general purpose dobsonian.
How much of a routine will you tolerate
This is the question that actually predicts how much you observe. If the honest answer is none, buy something that works in one trip with no alignment. If you will happily spend fifteen minutes setting up, an equatorial mount and everything it makes possible is open to you.
What can you carry, and to where
The instrument that gets used is the one that leaves the house. A large dobsonian that lives in a garage and rolls into a garden is portable; the same instrument up two flights of stairs is not. Answer this about your actual home rather than in the abstract.
Do you want to photograph what you see
If no, put every pound into aperture and a steady mount. If yes, the mount comes first, the telescope second, and the budget roughly doubles. Deciding this before buying saves the commonest expensive mistake on the shelf, which is buying a visual instrument and then wanting to image with it.
Questions people ask about telescope
What telescope should I buy first?
A dobsonian of the largest aperture you will carry outside, for most people. It puts the money into the mirror and has almost nothing to go wrong.
How do I know which telescope is right for me?
Answer four questions: what you want to look at, how much setup you will tolerate, what you can carry, and whether you want to photograph. The shelf narrows immediately.
What is a good telescope for a complete beginner?
A 130mm tabletop dobsonian, priced at $305.00 in this index, or a smaller reflector from $79.95 if the budget is tighter.