Beginners tobacco choices:

I see more often than not a lot of newb postings looking for pipe tobacco suggestions wherein the poster has 6-12 blends selected ranging from sticky sweet aromatics to hard core Virginia/Perique blends and they are trying ALL of them in a relativly short period of time. Discussions range from how bad the tongue is getting fried to how little the smoker is tasting in a blend and so on. What I'm about to suggest is nothing new or profound but it is well worn advice that I was given years ago when I started and I've heard and read it repeatedly over those years but seldom see it quoted on these forums.
Select a tobacco blend that you've researched as well as you can and one that sounds appealing to you and purchase a tin or 2 ounces of that blend in bulk (if available that way). Smoke just that ONE blend! I don't care if you smoke 1-5 bowls a day or just 1 bowl every 2 weeks, stick with that blend. Unless it absolutely sickens you or you can't stand the taste, stick with it, it's going to teach you how to taste all the variables that the blend has to offer. Try it in different pipes if you have more than one, it's going to change as you continue to smoke it, it'll dry out some, react with the air and your individual PH. If, after you've burned through the entire tin or bag, you decide you love it, get more but also get another blend that is similar but may have some different types of Virginias or orientals or maybe it's an aromatic, get something from the same manufacturer but maybe just a different casing, (flavoring).

Following along in this pattern will help you really learn what a given pipe blend is really all about and will help eliminate a ton of confusion and make your purchasing decisions less overwhelming. I hope this is helpful to a few of you newer smokers.
Also, take notes along the way and determine what it is you like or dislike about the blend. If you are able to single out individual components like Latakia or Red Virginias, black Cavendish, etc., find out from the source (as closely as possible) what the proportions are. This isn't always possible but what I'm aiming at here is getting you to establish some baselines as to what your likes/dislikes are. It'll save you time and money down the road.

I can tell you all that when I first really discovered premium tinned and bulk tobaccos and fell in the trap that many do, buying this and that, Virginias and VaPers were so odd tasting and bitey that I could not figure out how the reviewers were coming up with all the delicious reviews I was reading. Fortunately, for me, I got some mentors and I stashed away a lot of those unopened tins to come back to later. Many dollars would have been wasted had I not learned how to familiarize myself to the different blends.

Having and returning to baseline (favorite, well understood) blends kind of acts as a reset for the taster, I like to try new and different blends and genres of tobaccos but still smoke the tried and true blends daily. If something is off when I smoke my Dunhill EMP it means something is most likely off with my body's chemistry or PH. It happens, maybe I didn't brush well enough or I ate something very spicy? Those little details can mess up a trial smoke on a new blend if you're not mindful of such things and you might end up passing by an otherwise great blend.

I can tell you all that when I first really discovered premium tinned and bulk tobaccos and fell in the trap that many do, buying this and that, Virginias and VaPers were so odd tasting and bitey that I could not figure out how the reviewers were coming up with all the delicious reviews I was reading. Fortunately, for me, I got some mentors and I stashed away a lot of those unopened tins to come back to later. Many dollars would have been wasted had I not learned how to familiarize myself to the different blends.

Having and returning to baseline (favorite, well understood) blends kind of acts as a reset for the taster, I like to try new and different blends and genres of tobaccos but still smoke the tried and true blends daily. If something is off when I smoke my Dunhill EMP it means something is most likely off with my body's chemistry or PH. It happens, maybe I didn't brush well enough or I ate something very spicy? Those little details can mess up a trial smoke on a new blend if you're not mindful of such things and you might end up passing by an otherwise great blend.

Avoid aromatics.

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There was a time when I'd've agreed with that but the truth is there are many superior quality aro's out there. The trick I suppose is to find one that really works for whoever is trying it. The fruity, goopy stuff like Blue Note and Devils Holiday I'd say avoid at least for the new smoker, they have enough in the way of moisture issues, slobbering and whatnot, ( it's true, really). I've come around somewhat with aromatics and many of us smoke or have smoked aromatics without even realizing that they are classed that way. One of my very favorite VaPer blends is technically, an aromatic, I only recently discovered this and guess what, I still love the stuff.

Former cig and cigar smokers should IMHO, start out with a medium to full bodied English or Balkan blend because there's a lot of complexity there that they won't even realize until they smoke a lot of it but there's enough there to keep them intrigued.