Which speedlite to get?

It looks like this question has been somewhat posted before but I haven't been able to find any solid advice...

I have pretty much no experience with flash photography and so I'm here to beg for some help

Which speedlite should I look into? I get lost in some of the flash terminology sometimes and it makes it rather difficult to get my foot in the door. I'm just looking for something versatile and not too expensive (if that combination exists)...

thanks in advance for all replies!
-mike

The Canon Speedlite 420EX!

What he said. The 420EX tilts and swivels, so you can bounce off the ceiling even if you are shooting in portrait (camera sideways) mode. It has great range. I've used it to shoot a group of people from across the street. If you ever get super serious about this sort of thing, it works as a slave to a 550EX master.

You might consider getting a Lumiquest 80/20 promax system for up-close work. This lets 80% of the light bounce off the ceiling, but redirects 20% straight to the subject. It also has various attachments that come in handy when there isn't a ceiling handy but you still want to diffuse the flash.

One word of warning. A Canon G1 with a 420EX and Lumiquest on top starts to look seriously top-heavy. People will be curious.