Glock is a good place to start, or a springfield xd both budget guns high cap and well rounded shooters. HK would be at the upper end of plastic. The P30 or the HK45 are favorites of mine.
 If you want single stack metal gun 1911's are my choice but be careful not all are created equal, if you dont know what your looking at you can wind up with a lame duck. Cz is a nice option as well, check out the dan wesson site cant go wrong there. Sig puts together some good stuff too in a fair price range. Too many good ones out there, you need to decide what you like in a feature set or im just going to go on for hours about what I like.
Check out your local range and see if they rent used this is the fastest way to figure out what you like.

boomerman18

Cz and the Dan Wesson are above my price range but the glocks are very reasonable. Why do you prefer 1911 guns?

the same reason most people do, it was just one of the best shooting designs ever.

Not sure if this is what you want to hear or not...
 
The best thing to do is to find a local gun shop that also has a gun range, or a gun range that allows you to try guns they have for sale.
 
Guns are not all the same, and far from it. You "Must" find one that feels great in your hand. Add to that every human hand is a bit different to the difference in gun balance, size, kick, ergonomics and simply how the sites sit... Makes for extreme differences.
 
Try as many as you can. Even if it mean only dry firing (If they allow it) as many as you can in a store.
 
Trust me, this will save you a lot of angst and wasted monies.
 
Other than that, all the suggestions so far are very good ones. However, I would recommend FNH over them all. Our military and many around the world use no less than four of their offerings...
 
http://www.fnhusa.com/le/
 
This is one of mine and my absolute favorite for general planking and everyday usage. My all time favorite is my Kimber...
 

 
 

Afterburner

Not sure if this is what you want to hear or not...

The best thing to do is to find a local gun shop that also has a gun range, or a gun range that allows you to try guns they have for sale.

Guns are not all the same, and far from it. You "Must" find one that feels great in your hand. Add to that every human hand is a bit different to the difference in gun balance, size, kick, ergonomics and simply how the sites sit... Makes for extreme differences.

Try as many as you can. Even if it mean only dry firing (If they allow it) as many as you can in a store.

Trust me, this will save you a lot of angst and wasted monies.

\
 
This!

Tweaked

This is what I would recommend.  I have the compact version of this, and after 550 rounds, not a single failure.  Plus I am able to put a group of about 2in together at 15 yards.  It is very reliable and very accurate, and a lot cheaper than Glocks, S&W, and Springfields.  Not to mention that the trigger pull is awesome on it.  It is a superior gun.

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/52387

Really an SR-9? Im not sure that would be my first choice but to each his own. I just think Ruger couldve done such a better job on them. 
 
I have never looked at the proce on them because, after the military, I despise them; but, Beretta does make some decent 9 mil pistols. Although most people never have this problem, i watched too many of them jam in the sandbox to ever buy one. My current target is a Glock 23, if you specifically want the .45 ACP, its a recommended route. It holds a decent amount of ammo, is lightweight (compared to most 1911 frames) has an extremely simple system, doesnt have many parts, and is has a decent sized grip. Standard price, new from Glock, is about 650.00 USD w/ hard case, 3 mags, and I think a cleaning kit. This is my next planned concealed carry weapon.

Mossberg has become so popular its insane lol. Dont worry I like them too, for their price. I have a pistol grip 12 gauge sitting right next to my bed, I clean it once a week and take it out shooting every couple of weeks.

boomerman18

Cz and the Dan Wesson are above my price range but the glocks are very reasonable. Why do you prefer 1911 guns?

I have to its the state gun. lol
Well balanced, accurate, awesome. what more do you need? Like I mentioned before not all are created equal. For the most part 1911's are supposed to be hand fitted and precision made guns although many manufactures take advantage of the unknowing consumer and produce out of spec guns that function and shoot like crapus, the platform has the potential to be an amazing shooter. You just need to know what your looking at and what to look for when buying, name brand means nothing unless it has a note worth gunsmith attached to it, otherwise its a roll of the dice.

devdog51

Tweaked

This is what I would recommend.  I have the compact version of this, and after 550 rounds, not a single failure.  Plus I am able to put a group of about 2in together at 15 yards.  It is very reliable and very accurate, and a lot cheaper than Glocks, S&W, and Springfields.  Not to mention that the trigger pull is awesome on it.  It is a superior gun.

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/52387

Really an SR-9? Im not sure that would be my first choice but to each his own. I just think Ruger couldve done such a better job on them. 

I have never looked at the proce on them because, after the military, I despise them; but, Beretta does make some decent 9 mil pistols. Although most people never have this problem, i watched too many of them jam in the sandbox to ever buy one. My current target is a Glock 23, if you specifically want the .45 ACP, its a recommended route. It holds a decent amount of ammo, is lightweight (compared to most 1911 frames) has an extremely simple system, doesnt have many parts, and is has a decent sized grip. Standard price, new from Glock, is about 650.00 USD w/ hard case, 3 mags, and I think a cleaning kit. This is my next planned concealed carry weapon.

 
Yes really!  You may be thinking of when this gun was first released back in 2010.  When it was first released, there were issues with the trigger and striker.  Ruger issued a global recall and refitted them all with a new striker and trigger system.  Since then it has been hailed as one of the best trigger systems on the market today.  And all new SR9's are now produced with the updated system.  Like I said, I have put 550 rounds through my SR9c, and have not had a single failure.  Plus it is very accurate with light recoil.  I have no problem recommending a Ruger.

Delirious

550 rounds and ol tweaked is already a pro

 

 
This may be my first gun purchase, but not the first time I've fired a weapon.  I was in the military after all.  :P

I'm pretty much in the same boat. I ended up getting a SigSauer SP2022. It comes in 9mm and .40, I went with the 9mm.
 
Here it is:

 
I got mine for $360 including FFL fee's and shipping through gunbroker.com.
 
But the thing is, when I got to the FFL to pick up my gun, I had to wait a bit for them to process the background check and stuff. So I looked around at what they had, it was a pawn shop so they had a ton of used guns. I'll have to say... They had some damn good deals. You definitely want to go up to a local gun or pawn shop to try em out and see how they feel in your hand.
 
Before I was really cheap and got a 150 dollar gun off of gunbroker.com thinking I got a crazy deal. I got to the FFL to pick it up (A FFL i'll never use again, gun shops in my area are not nice people at all, I have better luck with pawn shops and bass pro.) Anyway... Got there, the gun shop had one just like mine in their case and it was cheaper than the one I bought after FFL fee's. Then when I took it to my buddies place to shoot, it about broke my wrist cause it was a compact, light weight gun... So your wrist takes most of the blowback.

If your looking for something as a novice and want to go to a range or just shoot a bunch, I recommend getting a Ruger 10/22 rifle or just a Ruger 22 pistol. The ammo is cheap, something like 3 cents a round, when everything else is around 25 cents or more.

Well, I just bought an FN FNX-9 (the successor to the FNP-9 Afterburner posted).
 
I'm not a striker fired kind of guy... therefore the Glock's, etc, are out for me.  I was originally thinking Sig... a 229 in 9mm... but the price made me balk.  I fired Glocks, Springfields, Colts, HK, Sigs, Barettas, Rugers, etc.  I knew I wanted a DA/SA, with a heavy DA pull (so if all other preventative measures fail, a toddler still couldn't make the pull).  I didn't want a poly frame originally, but for the price difference versus the Sig, I made the exception.
 
It comes with 3x 17 round mags... if you can't get it done with 17+1... forget shooting... you're better off throwing it at them.  The SA pull is light, with great feedback.  Larger front dot makes acquisition a touch easier... and for the misses... it's ambidextrous, with a safety/de-cocker... in case she gets nervous or something and forgets how to manually de-cock (stop snickering folks).

 
I've put 350 rounds through it so far, no issues with misfiring, stovepiping, or mis-chambering.  Field-stripped and cleaned it twice... and swapped out the backstrap to the thicker, smoother, rounded one.  Super comfy.  Big enough for my hand, small enough for hers.  When I travel, she says she feels much more secure with it by her side in my absence. 
 
So with that said... I can unequivocally give the FNX-9 a hearty thumbs up as a proven weapon with practical defense use that is great to shoot for fun.

haha the Judge, yep, that's pretty much perfect home defense.

ZachA

"I will be purchasing this for basically home defense and just in case shtf and zombies decide to become real."

OOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHH. For Home/Zombie defense, you want a 12 gauge Mossberg 500 with a pistol grip, short barrel, and a drum magazine. Like this:

 

mr. mister

ZachA

"I will be purchasing this for basically home defense and just in case shtf and zombies decide to become real."

OOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHH. For Home/Zombie defense, you want a 12 gauge Mossberg 500 with a pistol grip, short barrel, and a drum magazine. Like this:

 

The drum mags have been discontinued
 
A Saiga 12 is where its at, take an AK-47 and chamber it in 12guage and add a 20rd Drum
 

They make deer rifles similar to that and I saw a guy kill a buck with one but they kick like a mother