Best for beginner... (I think)

Personal preferences will dictate which camera to purchase. Canon seems to have very good choices in their Rebel line at the moment. I've stayed with Rebels over the last twenty five or so years simply due to image quality and perceived value for the dollar spent. The Rebel philosophy seems to fit well with the average shooter not interested in the latest and greatest at any cost plus the working at another job shooter who doesn't want to learn all the ins and outs of a camera they'll use a few times a week at most.

I just this week opted for a SL1, a slightly smaller body with a great (from every account) kit lens. plus a newer processor.  It is written up as being a smaller version of the T5i.  The SL1 fits my hand well despite my being accustomed to larger Rebels over the years. I'm also familiar with one of Canon's superzoom compacts (SX50) so the SL1 didn't seem all that strange to handle.  The SL1's non-articulated LCD screen is my one "?". I have the very capable Canon compact with the articulated screen so I'm not foreseeing any real issues here. Together the two cameras with the SL1's kit lens will take up far less total space than my old DSLR's complete rig of lenses and accessories.

I purchased the SL1 through Canon direct sales/refurbished. Canon's loyalty program gave me money back for my old Rebel XT and picked up shipping charges. If you own a newer than the XT camera, this program might not work out for you but the XT is now worth about what Canon offered. The entire deal cost me about what I would have spent for a new lens for the XT and I've upgraded the camera in the deal.

http://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog/cameras/refurbished-eos-digital-slr-cameras#facet:&productBeginIndex:0&orderBy:11&pageView:grid&minPrice:&maxPrice:&pageSize:&

Good luck with your new Rebel.  Should be a great starter camera.