The following ought to be on anyone's list:
M&P Series, if you could buy all the versions of this series listed in their catalog you would have to first win the Lottery.
PPQ M2 over the Match unless you plan on going Optic then the Match meets that requirement. There is no daylight between the M2 and the Match. They both shoot the same with the same triggers. The extra slide cuts on the Match help to offset the weight of the Optic on the slide. Other than that they are the same gun. I own them both. They are at the top my list for being user friendly. You can change the sights on the guns in less than ten minutes with nothing more than a flat screwdriver for example and have one of the best stock triggers out there
Sig 320 Series. The US armed forces adopted it because it was the best gun out there for their purposes. The gun will be around for a long time.
Springfield XD Series.quietly one of the best options out there.
On the periphery, are the boutique striker fired guns ie the Beretta, CZ Striker fired, Masada, and FN Series. These all work and have there following. As an aside I met one of our members who has the FN and it a jamamatic using factory ball ammo. I am sure it was an outlier but it could not fire two rounds in a row without jamming and he had four different mags with him.
Aside from the one FN above and stories about the SD9 I have not run into a modern striker fired polymer fired pistol that was not not dead nuts reliable, and capable of out shooting most shooters in stock form. You just have to go pick out one and go shoot the snot out of it.
The M&P covers a lot of shooting bases at a very attractive price for new shooters.
Take Care
Bob