HP's are good. toshiba's are a ***** to take apart if you need to clean it or get to something on the inside other then ram/battery/wifi card. i have a toshiba atm and have no problems with it, other then the lack of support for xp which is a given, but i work around that.
basically with laptops, what you should do is to a store (bb or cc) and test out some different models of Hp, dell, toshiba and see which one you like the best in terms of looks, feel ( each can have a different feeling keyboard) and look for different features and just pick out which one you like the best. also watch out for the weight of it, cause if you intend on going places with it, carrying around a 8-10lbs laptop can get really old really fast.
if you do get it from a store, unless you know 100% how to work your way out of any sort of software/hardware jam and are always extremely careful with it, as in it rarely leaves the house, GET THE WARRANTY THEY OFFER!!!
it is the best thing you can do if you are not uber tech savy. if you have a problem what ever it is, no matter how stupid it is, as long as you didn't stab it with a kitchen knife or something, then they will take it, and fix it no questions asked and at no cost to you.