Lord Rasputin
Explorer
Greyhawk is the least bad option. I would prefer Krynn, but that isn't in the cards.
Eberron has a different feel from normal D&D. The Forgotten Realms just suck IMNSHO, but from a more practical standpoint, the uber-crunchy-everything-but-the-kitchen-sink mentality could overwhelm a newbie. And selling those extra crunchy bits, the parts of the setting that don't suck (well, other than Waterdeep) garners more cash for WotC.
What WotC absolutely, positively cannot do is NOT have a default setting, or at least some sort of nod to a default setting. D&D's biggest strength, aside from name and network, is the out-of-the-box creator support. Toss it, and you make D&D a less-flexible version of GURPS with prettier pictures.
Eberron has a different feel from normal D&D. The Forgotten Realms just suck IMNSHO, but from a more practical standpoint, the uber-crunchy-everything-but-the-kitchen-sink mentality could overwhelm a newbie. And selling those extra crunchy bits, the parts of the setting that don't suck (well, other than Waterdeep) garners more cash for WotC.
What WotC absolutely, positively cannot do is NOT have a default setting, or at least some sort of nod to a default setting. D&D's biggest strength, aside from name and network, is the out-of-the-box creator support. Toss it, and you make D&D a less-flexible version of GURPS with prettier pictures.