A 50mm is always good to start for a beginner and it can be your portrait lens in crop sensor, alternately a 35mm is also good if you using a crop sensor it be more or less a 50mm, if you using nikon full frame or their 7xxx series then using the old 50mm D series is cheaper, few differents to it is probably a little loud and just a little bit slow in focus but arent a deal breaker and both of them perform just about the same, now if you arent ready for prime then you could look for a good zoom lens, 28-85mm nikkor ais pretty much a better version of a kit lens but heavy or other camera brand if you using a different camera brand. It is a good focal length, since it pretty much cover most of your needs, 28 for a little bit of wide, 35-50 for covering some streets and alley, 85 for that portrait and mid zoom. I am not sure why would the carl zeiss lens would be in the poll, sure if you got the money, their 85mm are good but keep in mind that most of them are Manual lens, its good for a beginner to practice their handle in manual lens, alternatively you could try Voigtlander they are cheaper but can perform just as same as carl zeiss lens.
I guess I should have added that the 50mm 1.8D is full frame which makes it 75mm on a crop sensor like the d7xxx series. Obviously this changes its uses, but in most situations just step back. Still a great pick.
On my d7100 I have the Nikon 80-200mm f2.8 (push/pull zoom, old but works well), 50mm 1.8D, and 18-55mm kit lens. This covers from 18-55 with the gap between 55 and the equivalent focal length of 120mm for the 80-200mm being covered by the 50mm (75mm for crop). Thinking of adding a 1.4 or 2 teleconverter that would work with all of these (if there is one) to be able to even further customize my focal coverage.
most "beginning users" aren't going to buy a full frame camera, which means they aren't going to get much of a wide or true 50mm perspective with a 50mm lens. Get something wider.
You're correct and I agree, but some people might want narrower than 50mm which makes it perfect. Plus, if they have the 18-55 kit then a 50mm will land outside their range and make it more useful than overlapping lenses. Personally, I do a lot of wildlife and animal photography so I always want narrower focal lengths. Unless I do landscapes, I find anything under 100mm far too wide. If I want a wider shot of a larger object, I'll just step back. But it depends on personal style so I'm sure some of these beginners operate like me and some operate like you.
