First if you have never flown a rocket I would suggest you look at an Estes starter set they are inexpensive (about $20.00 with discount) and are easy to assemble.
An Estes starter set comes with just about everything you need to get starter. You supply batteries, glue and about a hour or less of your time ! They even have "ready to fly" starter sets that require NO assembly !
Still staying in the inexpensive hobby line, look at the small kits from various companies by simply selecting the "Kits - Hobby" option from the selection frame on our rocketry page. Any of the kits in the HOBBY section will fly using your Estes starter set and Estes engines !
All the kits mentioned above a fairly easy to assemble, if your looking for more of a challenge look at Launch Pad Kits. These are still hobby size and some will fly on Estes D engines and on your Estes launch pad. They are a bit larger than your average Estes kit and also require more skill to assemble. Based on Estes skill levels, Launch Pad kits would be rated from a 3 to a 5. You are required to cut out some of the parts unlike Estes type kits. For the most part these are scale kits of REAL missiles and look great when finished!
Your next step up is out of the hobby rocketry line and into HIGH POWER.
High Power rocketry is a lot of fun, for the most part kits are much larger and constructed on much heavier materials than the hobby rockets. These kits are capable of extreme altitudes yet are some times easier to retrieve than hobby rockets. This is because their weight to parachute size is higher than hobby kits. Because of the materials used they can and do survive a faster landing than hobby kits. These kits fall faster on relatively smaller chutes so they are easier to retrieve !
You WILL need a larger launch pad and a different controller to fly high power kits ! There is some additional expense here but well worth it. You can construct your own pad and launch system ! Keep in mind that these kits a heavier and require a larger pad with 1/4 " to 1/2" launch rods. Your launch controller must be capable of handling and your power source must provide at least 12 volts at about 3-5 amps of current.
For those who do not want to construct their own launch pad and controller we suggest you purchase an Aerotech starter set. This set will allow you to fly all Aerotech kits a well as other high power kits that are 3" in diameter and smaller.
Most high power kits would are easy to assemble, they would have skill levels on a Estes scale of 1 to 2. Additional high power kits to look at for the beginner would be the LOC kits, look at the first few listed. They are easy to construct, sturdy and will fly on many different engines, some as small as a D.
If you stay with kits that will fly on a G80-X or smaller engine you can keep your costs down!, keep this in mind when looking at the specs on each kit. In general if you are new to high power, I would suggest looking at the LOC kits that will fly on D engines. This way you can fly cheap on Estes D engines and fly high on the Aerotech E-G motors.
Keep in mind that 4" and larger kits will require a larger launch pad and larger more costly engines. For the beginner into high power we suggest you start with smaller kits. I suggest you start small and work you way up in size. Although most rockets are simple to construct, some times mistakes happen. There are learning curves, for example, estimating how far a rocket will drift, you do not want to put a $100.00 kit into the trees. Take your time and work your way up the recommended engines list of your kit.
There are several brands we did not list here, they are good kits and fun to fly, our attempt was to get the beginner some information and get him/her directed to kits that are affordable, easy to build and fly.