I'm brewing my first homebrew with a buddy of mine tomorrow evening (Friday the 24th) and we will be using the Brewer's Best Irish stout. I'm glad to hear that it turns out well. The guy at the homebrew store said he loved it, but then he may have just been trying to make a sale (I don't know how much to trust him yet).
Our kit comes with (from memory, so bear with me), 2 cans of dark malt extract, 2 bags of specielty grains (can't remember specifics), and 2 hops (fuggles and something else). I like that the kit comes with grains, etc rather than just boil and ferment type kit. I feel like I am accomplishing more by starting off with an intermediate type brew. I've read the papazian book cover to cover and have also gone through the online Palmer book, so I am pretty confident that I know what to do.
We'll see how it turns out in a few weeks. Wish me luck.