You did not mention a budget level or your expectations of performance. If you intend to play at a high level, eventually you will prefer a grand piano. There is a forum dedicated to pianos called PianoWorld which has hundreds of posts on every type of piano issue if you are interested. If you purchase a used piano, it is wise to have a piano technician inspect it before you buy. Usually about $100 for the service but it is worth it. In new grand pianos, there are consumer-grade pianos, mostly made in Asia and they vary a lot in quality and materials, and then there are higher-grade performance pianos, mostly from Japan, Europe, and the US. These involve more handwork, higher quality materials, better designs, and so on, but they are more costly. Size matters in grand pianos. Larger pianos usually are superior tone-wise as well as in the actions. In uprights, spinets and consoles are the smaller pianos and have many design issues, but they are affordable, and the larger "upright grands" are usually older piano designs and may be playable or may be money-pits. Very few pianos over 10 years old are in top shape. Even new pianos need regular tuning, as well as other work such as regulation, voicing, etc. A good acoustic piano can be totally rebuilt if it is old and has good bones, but usually these end up costing almost as much as a new piano. Top brands are Bosendoerfer, Steinway, Schimmel, Bechstein, Sohmer, and others. Some other good piano brands at slightly lower prices include Yamaha and Kawai. Steinway offers two lower-priced brands in their stores: Boston and Essex. These can be ok, too. Check out Piano Buyers Price Guide for more articles, general price information, and so on if you are interested. There is an online version that can be read for free on PianoWorld. Good luck!