I think from a new comers perspective, you ask yourself, 'How much do I need to spend?' The sky is literally the limit. You can peruse the lists of Alex Gilmore's stones, and whilst there are some lower priced stones, there are many in four figures. So as a beginner what do you do, spend, need? I have had a good relationship over a number of years with Takeshi at Aframes, and from a buyers perspective I can't fault him. As mentioned in this thread, Alex and Keith all have good reputations, but, go back to what you want and what you can spend. When I stuck my toes in, I bought what I considered the best stone for the money I allocated. I bought a big double sided Ozuku Asagi, and I am more than happy with it, but it cost over $450 USD. Is that expensive? Well No it isn't, if you look around. sure you can find Koppa sized stones for less, but for bench sized quality stones, that is at the lower end of what you would need to pay for a quality piece. I'm not talking Nakayama Maruka, just a good sized Ozuku, or Shobu, even Wakasa. You are hovering around $350 - $500 for stones like that. I think though, the hardest part of all of this is not the choice of stones, it is learning how to use each particular stone. Now I'm a few months down the track, and my favourite, 'Go to' stone is the Shobu Asagi. It is nice and easy to use, and the edge is better than a 10k synthetic, but smooth and easy on the face.
I can imagine, stone retailers receiving emails saying 'I am looking for a fast cutting, super fine, hard finisher, but I cant spend more than $150 bucks. I mean, bend down and smell the roses. Those stones don't exist in the real world. Look at the lists of stones from JNS, Aframes, Tomonagura or the Japanstone. You won't find $150 buck fast, hard and superfine Ozuku's or Nakayama. In my opinion, for what it's worth, I have gotten the best bang for my buck from the Shobu Asagi Tamamoku, its hard, its fine, it's not a super fast cutter, but wow, when you go from a high grit synthetic to it, the edges are really very good, and if I had to pick any stone I've used I'd keep the Shobu. What I did was buy an Ozuku, a Shobu and a Wakasa, and each has it's own personality, I can't justify a Nakayama Maruichi pricewise but sure I'd like to try one, but where does that desire come from. It's not from someone else's exemplar, it's because of the pretty picture and the stamp! I watched a video of Keith Johnson and he said, that the price point is a consideration as to the genuine nature of the stone. In other words, if its really cheap, there is every chance it's not what it's claimed to be and the reliance on a stamp isn't always the best way of deciding on a purchase. We see lots of really nice looking stones on SRP. We rarely see what was paid for them.