[davidxc]

I think Lisp and C are the important languages to learn as a basis for understanding other languages, and programming in general. C is a low level language and gets you thinking about things like memory, memory addresses, and pointers. Lisp, on the other end, is a high level language with powerful tools for abstraction, like using macros to create new syntax.

However, I wouldn't recommend either language as your first. I recommend starting with Python. It's an easy language to learn, but also powerful. It's closer to the languages that are used in industry, has a lot of libraries, and you'll be able to quickly develop useful applications in it, which will make programming fun.

After a few months of Python, learn Lisp and C. Like others here, I also recommend learning Scheme, which is a clean dialect of Lisp.