Fire Emblem for the GBA and Path of Radiance are both great starting points for a new FE player. Personally, I'd suggest starting with FE GBA and then moving in to PoR afterwards, if for no other reason than that Radiant Dawn is a direct sequel to PoR, and it's cool to play the two back to back. Also, RD is kinda hard, so having the experience from two FE's under your belt will prolly help.
--
SunnyX ~ The cream of Robopon fanboyisim
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/5711/flawlessvictorynb4.png