I'm a beginner of beginners; elecric or acoustic

The title pretty much says it. I'm happy to see some great changes to the site but I have a number of friends that have been playing for years and I stop in the guitar shops and everybody tells me something different. That is to say what type of guitar is best for the most basic lessons. One person swears by learning on an acoustic, but most of my friends say they did it on an electric and I shouldn't even think twice about using the electric I have. None of them bought acoustics even when they reached an advanced level. Although, I know most of the people I talk to don't appeciate acoustic as much as I do. Does is anyone have an absolute yes or no (and why)?

I'm pretty much a beginner still, less than 2 yrs. I would offer this opinion- Both.

If you already have an electric, that's awesome. I like the sound of an acoustic to be sure. You can have all the effects in the world (ok, I don't) and nothing says or sounds like a GUITAR than an acoustic.

For me, I have an electric with jumbo or xtra jumbo frets and a Yamaha steel string acoustic. In my opinion, chords are easier to play & learn on my acoustic. However the neck is smaller and smoother on my ESP LTD electric. But I have a tendency to press too hard and make everything sharp on the 1st 3 frets. Probably my guitars, and the electric needs a proper setup instead of DIY..

Bottom line.. If you like an acoustic, get one additional to your electric. It'll be like 'cross-training.' Each has a different feel, a different sound and stresses different skills that are essential to learning the instrument.

Hope this is helpful!

addition-- forgot this-- I started on the acoustic (dreadnought size) and the size of it was awkward and intimidating at first. It took me about 9mos to start getting comfortable with it. But I did and now can't imagine not having both types. Something to consider..

I vote for both also..
hi selfpursuit, "an electric with jumbo or extra jumbo frets " That's one problem with having jumbo frets.

I would say start with an electric. Typically it is easier to play than an acoustic because of lighter strings. Easier to bend and do hammer-ons / pull-offs if you want to play rock and/or blues. You can easily control the volume of the amp in case you don't wan't to disturb other people in your house. I know several people who started with acoustics and they end up sitting in the back of a closet.
Another thing to consider is the thickness of an acoustic compared to a nicely contoured body of a Strat, for example. The acoustic is not comfortable when sitting on the couch practicing and watching tv.

I have 7 electrics and 2 acoustics....guess which ones have dust on them....

just my 2 cents...