tobacco types question

Welcome to the forum! ::
Here is a great starter read on the types of tobacco and some general qualities of each.
http://pipedia.org/wiki/Pipe_Tobaccos
There are so many blends and half the fun is the journey of discovery.
If you search "top 10" of any tobacco type you will find many lists of favorites.
What tobaccos are you currently enjoying the most?

@mnuss240 Welcome...we have a lot of threads addressing the different tobaccos that you mentioned. There are more lists than you could imagine. Also, some of our site sponsors offer sampling packs...I would suggest contacting them and asking...welcome aboard...I will start the list ...here a few of my favorites
Aromatic - Lane 1Q, Sutliff Molte Dolce, Odin's Wind

Virginia Perique - Solani 633 and Escudo

English - Crown Achievement
Any and all Frog Morton blends

Burley-C&D Old Joe Krantz

Cavendish-Lane Limited 1-Q

Virginia-Mac Baren Virginia no. 1

Oriental- McClelland Yenidje Supreme

Latakia-Mac Baren Vintage Syrian

Perique-Mac Baren Acadian Perique
Welcome to the forum, and enjoy!

This is not a direct answer but I found it interesting a few years ago to get some lanes BCA, 1Q, and RLP-6, that way you get cavendish, then cavendish + virginia, then cavendish + virginia + burley. There are toppings, but at least it gives you an idea of how the components work together when blended by the same company, and you can buy an ounce of each in bulk...
Isaac

If you're just starting with pipe tobacco, you must take into consideration that your palette will develop and change as you learn the process, which will thereby change your ideas of value.

What you think is good today may fall back upon the discovery of something else, and vice versa.

Being able to identify something you like is really the first step, and you may find that you like them all, or nearly so, and will then find yourself refining and redefining these preferences or even discovering new ones.

Learning to distinguish Virginias, Burleys, Perique, Orientals, Turkish, Latakia, and Cavendish is probably most easily accomplished with what are called non aromatic blends.

As a former cigarette smoker, I started with non aros because I liked the taste of good tobacco already, even though I'd found only one cigarette tobacco to be 'my brand'. I rolled Drum cigs for years. Taxation made the product less accessible and I searched for less expensive alternatives.

I stumbled into pipe smoking in an attempt to eliminate cigarette papers, and soon discovered pipe tobacco, an altogether superior tobacco product with flavors and aromas I found delicious.

Happy puffing!

The search tool on C&D's website will help you locate representative blends from their product line.

Also, SmokingPipes.com has a tobacco locator search tool that can be very handy.

Best thing to do is to spend some time prowling through the tobacco listings, tin and bulk, at the retail sites of our sponsors. Take the recommendations given you on this post and read about them. It's a learning curve, but enjoyable. The two major categories are aromatic and non-aromatic. The aromatics have flavorings that are not tobacco like rum, whiskey, vanilla, caramel, etc. etc. You might also note that Latakia and Perique are mostly used with other tobaccos to lend flavoring and accent. Cavendish is used both on its own and as a flavoring. On the retail sites, each tobacco is described for its blend tobaccos, it strength, taste, and "room note," which is the ambient smell it puts off indoors. You'll learn a lot, and if you're like me, spend many happy hours reading about tobaccos to try, and others you'd just as soon not try. I recommend our sponsors only because these are the largest retailers with the best web sites. Look around other places too, but these are the best place to start. They're listed in red on the Forums home page at the left.

...oops, I should have give you a little more guidance. Not all of the sponsors have extensive tobacco offerings. Start by trying smokingpipe.com, pipesandcigars.com, cupojoes.com, 4noggins.com, and iwanries.com ... for starters anyway. Happy hunting!

Here's some quintessential- might be a bit strong to start but will definitely be an introduction!
Burley- see above, I'm not a burley expert. See above recommendations
Virginia- Capstan Blue or McClelland Blackwoods Flake - these are two very different kinds.
Perique- Escudo Navy Deluxe
Latakia (English)- Dunhill MM965
Oriental- Also not an expert, see above.
Aromatic- Lane's 1Q, Lane's LL-7, CAO Eileen's Dream, Sutliff Molto Dolce
A little combo action? Checkout Peter Stokkebye Luxury Bulls Eye Flake for Virginia, Perique, and Cavendish all in one tasty, affordable package. Goes very nicely in a cob.

I stopped smoking cigarettes over 15 years ago. It kinda turns my stomach (for lack of a better term) for me to smell or taste cigarette tobacco any more. This really effects most pipe blends I've tried.
Full disclosure: I'm extremely new to the hobby so take my opinion with a grain, but Orlik Golden Slice was a smooth smoke, but reminded me too much of cigarettes to really enjoy it. Give it a go. It's relatively inexpensive and it's widely popular and can see it's appeal, but it's not for me.

The selection of blends and pipes are limitless and can be a bit overwhelming when starting out. Simply put, it's as easy or complicated as you want to make it. Some are happy with a corn cob and one blend, while others are always searching for that next magical blend. Pipes&Cigars.com is a great place to shop. That's where I get almost everything. They have great sampler packs.
Welcome aboard.

Virginia = Capstan Blue Flake

Vaper = Escudo

English = Dunhill London Mixture

Vabur - Solani Silver Flake

Aromatic= Mac Baren Vanilla Creem Flake

pipesandcigars.com offers a few samplers that are built for specific types of tobacco. I would consider it once you find a plant you might like. They call them step latter samplers. Here is one for example cavendish
http://www.pipesandcigars.com/samplers/80647/cavendish-step-ladder-sampler/