In my experience, Yamaha makes great guitars. I have a Yamaha Student Classical (model C-40) myself, and it plays nice...not beautifully (I think it's priced around $75 - $100), but nice. Another inexpensive brand I'd recommend is Seagull. They play as nice as some other brands 2-3 times the price range. The classical strings are gonna be easier on your fingers, but they have a different tone than steel strings. Classicals also have wider fretboards with more space between strings, so play whichever is more combfortable to you, and don't be afraid to pick a pretty one...if you don't like how it looks, you won't wanna pick it up.