Best Plants For Beginners

As the title suggest, which would be the best real plants to keep for someone who has never kept live plants before?

And I know it may be down to a matter of preference, but are they worth it?

Generally plants that are OK with low light conditions. I'm a bit of fan of cryptocornes and have various different types. Just need to be aware that they don't like being moved, so it's not uncommon for them to 'melt' and look like they've died a few weeks after you plant them. You just need to be patient with them and leave them undisturbed till they grow new leaves.

Another popular 'starter' plant is the Amazon sword, though my experience of them is varied. Although they are an easy, low light plant I think they need quite a lot of nutrients, possibly nitrates.

Valisnera is also another easy one. I can't remember which particular one I have.

The other plant I have is limnophilia sessiflora. Although this grows in relatively low light, it gets leggy and my plants only really looked beautiful when I swapped my tubes for one that has a lot of yellow light.

I also have a Java fern - the lacey one whose name I can't remember.

I have all these plants growing successfully in my tank with T8 tubes.

I agree with all of the suggestions here. Sagittaria subulata is a very good short carpeting plant which I've found very reliable. The Dwarf Chain Sword Echinodorus tenellus is similar and also does very well. Amazon sword has grown well for me in some tanks but died in others, though all were set up in the same way. I've found Vallisneria surprisingly unreliable. Hygrophila polysperma grows very well, but isn't the tidiest of plants.

Generally the more exotic looking plants are the most difficult to grow, including any with red foliage. The easier ones are those which people tend to call "water weeds".

By far and away the best floating plant I have found is the Amazon Frogbit Limnobium laevigatum.

As I've noted here recently, I've found that the more fish you have, the better the plants grow.
More fish = more poo (fertiliser) + more CO₂ = more plant growth.