Man, you are really going to get a mix of input. Most people are loyal to their brand.
I just got my first DSLR this yr. and Its a Nikon D3100. I absolutely love it. You can pick up a kit with 2 lenses (18-55 and 55-200mm) lenses and the bag and everything for $700 at costco. The menus are intuitive, the camera's potential is awesome. Also its light. for $200 I got a 35mm prime lens F1.8 and it rarely leaves my camera. Makes it great to walk around. Also it does 1080p video.
My friend just picked up a T3 for his family to use. And I messed with it for an hour with as much of an open mind as I could. I just didn't like it. It felt cheap, lack of grip? The menus didn't work for me, but maybe its because I've already been nikon brain washed. They did purchase it with a 75mm to 300mm kit lens which is nice, plus their kit lens had a metal mount. All the nikon kit lenses were plastic mount, but my other ones purchased later were metal mount.
However the lenses for Canon are a bit cheaper, but I don't think its a huge deal.