Well, there is a plethora of options on the market for someone looking for a laptop; and there are 3 main catagories to look at in my opinion.  1) light and small - great for college, a backpack, etc.  2) desktop replacement - these are larger, heavier, yet faster, and have biggerscreens.  and 3) the middle - these are great first laptops.  Here are some examples and my picks for each catagory.

Group 1) AVERATEC 10-13" notebooks theseare the lightest, yet smallest ones i could find.
               Apple MacBook 13" - this is my favorite, yet i dont have one.  It is a great compromise between teenie-tiney and MONSTEROUS.
                Other 10-13" Notebooks
Group 2) Apple MacBook Pro - up to a 17" screen, and super fast!
              HP dv9000 - same as a compaq.  good, old fashioned, PC
Group 3) My pc, the Compaq v2000 with the 14.1" widescreen, not uber heavy, but still weighs a bit more than my Biology Book (around 5lb.)
                Apple 15" Macbook - pricey (around 12/1300 dollars) but still, its a mac!
                Any 14/15" dell, hp, compaq, etc. 

There is another factor; price.

If youre willing to spend around a grand or more, you can have a laptop that beats most desktops!