Yes the 50mm f1.8 (aka thrifty fifty) is very popular. For beginners this is a great lens. Although it feels very fragile and the build quality is questionable, for the price its definitely a great lens. It is surprisingly sharp and the ability for low aperture is great.
If you read the reviews you will see that this lens is pretty well known and popular and most people say its great bang for buck.
Heres an example pic i took with mine at f2.0
