[eluser]pims[/eluser]
I love jQuery but would not recommend it for a "first time use framework". The jquery syntax is elegant, effective but , in my opinion, doesn't look like javascript at all ! I started with Prototype, then switched to jQuey, but reverted back to Protoype because it looks more like javascript to me. mootools looks a lot like prototype, so I'd second the mootools choice.
Like adamp1 said, in the end, it's really up to the user to pick whatever javascript framework they feel more comfortable with. They're all great :-)
Happy coding.
