Best first-time pellet grill

I bought a Z Grill off of Amazon and it has been fine. I honestly think they are all the same for the most part. Although I’ve heard good reports on the the Recteq’s but probably not entry level prices.

My first was a Pitboss XL 1000. It worked well but it isn't like a gas grill where you can light up one side to grill a couple chicken breasts. You have to heat the whole thing up so it was too big to be practical for quick weekday meals. I sold it and bought a RecTec Bullseye and love it. It'll get up to 800 degrees on riot so it's great as a grill as well as a pretty decent smoker. It's great when you don't want to baby a fire in a stick burner all day. You have to pay attention to how much grease drips in it because it will flare up like any grill but if you run it on riot a few minutes after every cook it doesn't build up.
I think they recently went up in price but I believe they're still under $500.

Here's a brisket and a boston butt I recently cooked on mine.

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Love my recteq... it's a bit more expensive, but they have killer customer service and a great warranty.

Don’t know what the best is but I have a pit boss electric vertical pellet smoker. No complaints yet.

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I got a Rec Tec 700 for my first and only pellet grill and I love it. It works great and it's built like a tank. Very solid and will last a long time. Absolutely love it.

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This, but I got the 590. It’ll make you look like a pro.

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Love my recteq... it's a bit more expensive, but they have killer customer service and a great warranty.

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I have a 340 and got a bullseye for this past Christmas. The 340 is about 5 years old (the old painted version). It has hundreds of cooks, lives outside about 40 ft from my saltwater pool, and I have only had to replace the temp probe last year and the ignitor rod this year. Both out of warranty and still shipped to me free as far as I know. I was shipped the upgraded ceramic ignitor rod but it didn't fit my fire pot. So instead of exchanging it for the old style, they just sent me the upgraded fire pot too. No questions asked, no back and forth arguing, no explanation needed.

The 340 is great as a smoker and just adequate as a grill. The Bullseye is great as a grill and adequate as a smoker. The combo gives me ultimate flexibility while preparing meals. I can have a butt smoking on the 340 while I am grilling vegetables and hot dogs on the Bullseye. Or on gameday I can smoke a couple racks of ribs on the 340 while I smoke/grill some wings on the Bullseye. I wouldn't trade this flexibility of temps & direct/indirect heat for anything.

I got an Oklahoma Joe DLX a few months back. Its been great once you get the hang of temp zones and hot spots.

Heats up quickly...ive gotten it up to 640 deg on the Sear setting

Recteq is the way to go. I have a Bullseye and only regret is not buying one sooner. I have cooked pulled pork, brisket, salmon, and ribs and they all came out phenomenal.

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I got a Rec Tec 700 for my first and only pellet grill and I love it. It works great and it's built like a tank. Very solid and will last a long time. Absolutely love it.

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I did a lot of homework before I pulled the trigger on a pellet grill. My buddy has the biggest, most expensive Traeger you can buy, and was pushing me towards that brand. After doing a lot of research, I settled on the Rec Tec 700 also. Flawless! I've got really good at brisket, butts, and ribs. Steaks and burgers, I reverse sear.

Now my buddy is asking me if I ever have the problems that he's having with his grill. LOL!

Side note, another buddy who has an expensive, built-in gas grill, and Weber-type charcoal, just dove into the pellet scene. He went cheap, and bought one from Lowes. After it's all said and done, he should've just stayed with using gas. He doesn't smoke meat, and his doesn't have the features that make a pellet grill worth having, like wifi for temp and probe monitoring. Out on the lake all day, and we have no idea how the cook is going.

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I was looking at the Bullseye, just wasn't sure if it was big enough.

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I know a few people that have a bullseye that like them, but for what you pay for them they feel really flimsy and cheap. If I was looking right now I would get a Pit Boss 1150 from Lowes. You can not get a better pellet smoker for the money.