One of the questions asked ad nauseam is, "What is the best art?" or
sometimes its modified form, "I wanna kick butt and don't want fancy-schmancy
stuff, what art should I choose?" Well, the answer is, "We don't know."
There's much debate over what exactly is the "best art" or what is an
"effective art." It comes down to a lot of questions such as, "Best for
what?" and "Best for you or best for me?" In the end, it's a question
you're going to have to answer for yourself through personal exploration
and hard work.  Since you're looking for a Martial Art to start, you should
look for the ones that are available to you.  Simply put; it doesn't matter
if it's the ultimate kick-butt art, if you can't find a school near enough
to take classes at.  With that thought in mind, you should look to see what
schools are available in your area and make your selection from those.  If
you are looking for a specific art, you are still restricted to what's in
your area, so go ahead and look anyway.