good curling iron? yep, for hair (new to this...)

I'm going to assume you have normal white person hair and say - pretty much any curling iron you get will work. Even those Conair or whatever ones at the drugstore will get the job done. There are fads in curling irons - gold plating, ceramic, etc. Lots of people swear by the ceramic, say it damages the hair less or whatever. I think it is all a function of how you use it and how much you use it. I'm assuming this isn't going to be a daily habit for you since this is your first time, so you should be okay with anything. The gold plating seems to accompany curling irons that heat up hotter than normal ones, so...something to keep in mind. If your hair is known to be hard to curl, then maybe look for one of these, but otherwise it won't matter.

What I would look for is one with multiple heat settings so you can find something that is hot enough to actually get your hair to curl, but not too hot to cause damage. Look for something with a dial rather than just "low" and "high" settings.

Quick heat-up is good to have, too; I think mine reaches max temp in around a minute.

As a curling iron newbie you'd probably also want one with plastic at the tip of the curling iron, too (in addition to the handle), to help with positioning. You'll find you won't need this later on, but it is very helpful at first.

Also - not a crucial feature, but mine came with a heat-resistant cover for the metal parts; I've found it handy to have if I need to do my hair right before packing the iron in a suitcase or putting it away for storage in the bathroom - that way you don't have to worry about melting anything accidentally.

As mentioned above - you can probably find one that will work for you in a bigger drug store/target-style store/online/etc. If you want maximum options then seek out a "beauty supply" store. I don't know of any in PS, there is one in Fulton Mall I've been to a few times (and where I bought my last curling iron), but be prepared to be, well, the minority in there. (Edit note: If you do go to a beauty supply store or big online place, make sure you get a "spring" grip curling iron and not the "marcel" style - the marcel style is what the pros use, it doesn't close on its own like the spring ones.)

I would like to add, that if you end up with a hair flat iron, it can double for clothing touch-ups! I don't use mine much and when I do, it's on clean hair so I might wipe it with a towel first, but it's handy for smoothing the button-hole side of shirts and collars.

Oh, and if it matters, you can curl more hair at a time with a bigger-barreled curling iron.

I bought Conair Big Curls about 10 years ago. I haven't used them in a couple of years but they're cheap ($19.99) and work better than the 5 different sized curlings irons that I own:
http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?skuId=6501270&productId=3594&navAction=push&navCount=1&categoryId=cat120076&CAWELAID=202392060#details