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If you are starting from having no credit whatsoever, like I did, the best thing you can do is get a secured credit card (Where they have $300 or so of your money in a savings as collateral on your credit card) for 6 months, and pay off your full balance every month MINUS $5 or so.
Why ? Having a credit card that gets paid in full every month never shows up on a credit rating. It essentially has no activity on that account.
Leaving $5 or so in there every month shows the card is getting used, and that you have the money to pay off all your bills without any problems. Sure, you will pay an extra couple pennies in the end, but that is a VERY small price to pay for a good credit score.
After 6 months, all that data bacomes legitimate. If they see you haveing a credit card for 3 months, it doesn't mean a thing. 6 months seems to be the lucky number, and then you start to see the credit applications roll in. What I did at that point is sign up for any card that had no startup, annual, or any other fees beyond your monthly percentage rate. Even if the rate sucked major ass, I still took the card. This raises your total credit dollar amount, without costing you a ton every year in fees.
The credit dollar amount is what qualifies you for larger purchases like cars, and motorcycles and such. Once you get into that range, if you get a couple LARGE dollar item things on credit, your total credit worth rises quickly, which is what leads you to looking good when it comes time to negotiating a first-time mortgage.
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