For ease of control I would suggest a coaxial like the Blade CX/2. The next step up would be either a Blade CP/Pro or a TREX. The CP/Pro's are lighter & smaller than the TREX and thereby quite a bit harder to hover & control. It's been said many times that if you can fly a CP/Pro you can fly just about anything else.

A new Blade CX/2 will run you right about $180-190 brand new. Upgrades such as the aluminum swashplate (a required upgrade in my opinion) and some spare blades will only cost an extra $55-60 bucks.

The Blade CP Pro is $250 new in the box with everything you need to fly it, transmitter included. The only thing it doesn't come with is an AC adapter for the charger. (Why is beyond me, they give you a charger but no way to plug it into a wall? DUH) Again the aluminum swashplate upgrade is a MUST! Everything else can be left stock until you're ready to upgrade it. The CP Pro can get expensive when you start "blinging" it out, to the tune of a couple hundred more dollars. The CP Pro comes with a standard rate gyro built into the control unit located on the front of the bird but upgrading to the G90 heading hold gyro is also, in my opinion, a must have. It can be connected to the control unit on the chopper to tie into the 5th channel on your radio allowing for in-flight adjustment between SR & HH modes as well as the gain value of the gyro.

Cost wise I can tell you from my own experience that I spent around $400 upgrading & repairing my CX/2 (included in that cost is 3 extra batteries) and close to $600 on my CP Pro (1 extra battery). This is an expensive hobby and if there's any question about how much it's going to cost over time you may want to consider something else. I've heard it put this way on several occasions... "model rc helicopters are the most expensive rc hobby you can get involved in, second only to rc jet powered aircraft." A TREX with a good transmitter, HH gyro, digital servos... the "works" will cost upwards of $1100-1400.

I would strongly suggest that you begin your chopper hobby with something simple like the CX/2. Learning & getting comfortable with orientation (especially nose-in) is MUCH MUCH easier on a coaxial bird! Repair costs are also kept minimal since most parts for the CX/2 cost less than $5 to replace. When you feel you've mastered the CX/2 is when you should consider moving up to something more powerful. The CP Pro is an awesome bird that is fully capable of advanced aerobatics as well as some light 3D.