I started programming with QBasic, then VisualBasic, Delphi and finally C/C++. IMO there is nothing better than C/C++, because of the simple fact that it has more libraries (many of them free) than the other languages i know. Apart from that C/C++ is good for beginners and experts. You can go with C all the way and it will be almost like coding in some Basic language, or you take the object oriented C++ way, or you combine them. Like i said, it's just my personal opinion and there is no way to argue about a personal opinion