My first guitar was a POS acoustic that someone gave to me. From what I understand, it was sold through late-night infomercials that promised you could learn to play guitar by putting little coloured stickers on the fretboard.
My first good guitar is an Epi LP. I went into the shop expecting to go home with an HSS strat of some sort, but the LP was the one that spoke to me. It just felt right. I know it's not a top-shelf brand, but it plays great.