I play a baritone, it was my first fretted instrument. It is a blast to play and it has a unique voice. The tuning is the same as the top four strings of a guitar, DGBE, so it's very easy to figure out if you already play guitar.
There are some great new ukes on the market now, Martin has reissued the S series, pretty inexpensive, as the old 1920's and '30's S models, especially the fancy ones, can go for big bucks. There are usually some on Ebay. I think the new ones are made overseas and the ones I've played have been nice but not special.
A new design is the Fluke Uke, kind of a cool look. They are in a lot of stores. It's a soprano uke, so the low D is tuned up an octave.
Or, you can get one in Hawaii, lucky dog! There are many small makers coming up with gorgeous ukes, and everything is Koa, oh my my my...need anyone to carry your bags??
