I will always recommend "Better Homes and Gardens" for new cooks. The recipes are tried and true, the ingredients are not something you need to spend half your Saturday searching for, and, most importantly, the book takes the time to show you how to do things like "reduce a sauce" or "make a rue" (or
imper if you share my cultural background).
For more advanced cooks, I like cookbooks that are sold for charity. You know the ones, that have the person's name who donated the recipe, etc. I think these are the greatest because here are
people giving their family favorite to the cause. So you end up with a whole book of chesrished, practical recipes. My current favorite is the "Angels and Friends" series. The first two in the series are the best, the books benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association (I believe), and some of my best stuff comes out of their pages.