If Dragon Ball wasn't released the way it was in the west, no one would suggest starting with Z. Anime's fault I suppose. Did Dragon Ball need a rebranding?
But if you really want to get the western cultural appreciation, then dubbed Z is the way to go, but even that's kind of a mess of releases.
http://i498.photobucket.com/albums/rr345/Rakaputra/B8%20Girls%202012/pjbas.png