Is this for your own purposes, or a gift for someone else?
Your personal tastes may have a strong influence on the best advice to give you. But as a fairly safe guide - and I'm no expert myself - if you're just dipping your toe into single malts* then I'd start with the Highland malts as they're probably the most accessible, and can still be very nice without some of the idiosyncracies that people either love or hate about Speyside or Islay malts. (e.g., Personal favourite is a 16yo Lagavulin, but I realise that's a bit of an acquired taste, being one of the most Islay of Islays.)

*_{...then stop, because that will make them taste funny *COMEDY DRUM FILL*}
(LongJohnBaldry, Mon 7 Dec 2009, 15:35, Reply)