[saundby]

Each language tends to have particular problems it's most used to solve. They may not even be what the language is most suited for. Figure out what sort of programs you want to write, then search on that to see what others use. There'll be overlap, so look at the resources, figure out which seem to make the most sense to you, then pick the language that matches.

At first, your choice of language isn't all that critical so long as you start out with some resources you've turned up that'll let you get some of those first projects completed. Then you'll be good enough at formulating ideas then implementing them to make a more informed choice. Either you'll be comfortable enough with your chosen language's idiom to solve problems even if they don't necessarily align with the language's strengths, or you'll have a better basis to pick a new language that addresses your problems with the first language. After some initial discomfort, if you've picked well the new language will start to feel handy and expressive in a short while.

Any of the major languages can be taken on by the new programmer, I usually recommend one of Ruby, Python, JavaScript, Java, or Groovy. The resources for beginners are good, the user communities are supportive, and they're all expressive enough to create powerful programs.

There are lots of other good languages--no knocks on them--these are just my favorites presently. I teach programming to non-programmers, BTW.

Once you pick a language, come back and ask for resources for that language. ;)