I own, have owned, several handguns. I regret selling most and made a piss poor trade that I have yet to forget. If it's for personal carry/protection, I'd go with a small semi automatic or a snub nose .357. I prefer revolvers. If you can't win with 6 shots, then the fight was too big to start with.
If you just like to shoot, I'd buy every handgun that appealed to me. I like Ruger, Taurus, Beretta, Glock, Springfield Armory.
In fact, for your first purchase, I'd recommend the Springfield Armory XD line of pitols. 9mm is the least expensive to shoot. .40S&W is nice - .45ACP would be my choice or .357sig