Which knife is best for somone just learning to cook?
The difference between a santuko and European chef's knife is mostly a matter of personal taste and style.

However, if you live in North America, Europe, or anywhere else with a European cooking tradition, most of the resources and videos that you see to help you develop knife skills will assume you have a chef's knife.  For this reason, I suggest you start with a good basic chef's knife.  Secondly, you will want a paring knife.   

With these two knives, you can do 95% of kitchen tasks very well.

As you develop your skills, you can try santukos and other style blades and determine if the work for you.