set a budget, go to a good music store or dealer who carries several reputable brands and go from there,
my beginner choices would be Jupiter, Yamaha, Pearl

When i bought my first beginner flute, it was in 7th grade. I never knew about the different brands out there and how different it is. my dad knew very little about different flutes out there..and how there's gold flutes and all that. I said i just want a "normal".^^ I told my dad to just go to the music store, pick out a flute and buy it. I was just excited to get a flute of my own. My dad bought a gemienhardt 2sp. That was the ONLY brand of flute they had..(weird).
ANYWAYS, i don't really regret getting that..although there's so many other GOOD beginner flutes out there...oh well. My gemienhardt flute played well, so i'm happy^_^..

YUP. Yamaha, Pearl and Emerson are great..

Yamaha is always a safe bet.

Yamaha or Pearl.

Get an armstrong. They are built better then the yamaha.

I disagree, as do many others here. Both Armstrongs and Yamahas are solid beginner's instruments, and should do what you need them to do, but IMO, the Yamaha is the better choice.