Caution shame ahead: I have NEVER played a FInal Fantasy game. I really want to dive into the series, but I have my doubts. People say I should start Final Fantasy off with 7 or 10 I don't know why, but thats why I'm asking.

Start with 6. It's better than 7.

I'm starting with this one because I'm too lazy to get any of the other ones right now.

start with final fantasy 1. the way its meant to be played

Random guy: " Where should i start?"

Some other dude " The beginning would be nice"

They are all stand alone stories so you will be fine with the story and gameplay.  If you have a PS2 or backward compatable PS3 and can play 7, 8, 9, 10(my favorite) or 12 or are capable of playing 4 or 6 I would just because they are good games.

start with whatever you want. the story never carries over unless it's a shitty spin-off, so you're not missing any back-story.

The stories never carry over between the main games (except for X to X-2), so it really doesn't matter.

It really doesn't matter. None of the stories are continued with the rare exceptions. But I'd say play I, II, IV, VI, VII, IX, and X. And if you want a good FF game that isn't in the standard RPG genre, I'd really recommend Final Fantasy Tactics. Great addition, though I don't recommend the GBA/DS Tactics games. They were terrible.
 
I've played all of them, and while (for the most part) they were all good, I don't recommend V or VIII. FF III was good, but If you wanna play it, grab an NES emulator and play a translated version.

There's no reason I can think of why you'd need to play other games in the series before XIII. Besides each game existing in a separate continuity, the game mechanics change between entries as well, so having experience with, say, FFVII's version of the ATB system probably won't give you an edge when you're playing FFXIII. Final Fantasy is a series which attempts to reinvent itself in one way or another with each release, which means two things: (1) the fan base is essentially unpleasable; and (2) you can jump in pretty much whenever you want.
 
Have fun.

XIII is fine. it's updated, better looking and will give a general idea of what the Final Fantasy series has been offering it's fans for year. once you're done then you can go back and play the older titles.

" I'm starting with this one because I'm too lazy to get any of the other ones right now. "

Final Fantasy is hardly a series in the traditional sense.  There is no story continuity between each proper iteration (unless you count stuff like a guy named Cid always being an aircraft expert and the existence of Chocobos), and the gameplay changes between each game.  FFXIII takes pieces of gameplay from prior Final Fantasy games to make up its own unique perspective on turn-based RPG combat... but playing the older FF games is not necessary to understand it.

If you don't play all of them you won't understand the chocobo or the Cid.

Might as well start with this one then.

Start with either this one, X, or XII simply because they aren't that old. Unless you play a lot of old games it can be hard to go back and play something like FF6 or 7 after playing a lot of modern games. Stuff like gameplay and story is debatable but from a technical standpoint the older titles don't stand up to the more modern ones. The series has drastically changed over it's 20 year life span and when offering advice I tend to think it is smarter to play the more recent ones and if you enjoy them go back further to see what else you missed depending on how much you enjoyed the others.

To get the real gist of FF I would start with either 6 or Tactics. Then move onto the "new wave" FF's (10 and after) if you're still interested. 

It doesn't matter. I stopped enjoying them since FF8 and 9, 10, and 11 didn't appeal to me at all. Haven't tried 12, but that one actually seemed interesting.
 
I might pick up FF13 since I happen to have a system than can run it this time... but I don't expect it to grab me like the old SNES ones.

" Start with either this one, X, or XII simply because they aren't that old. Unless you play a lot of old games it can be hard to go back and play something like FF6 or 7 after playing a lot of modern games. Stuff like gameplay and story is debatable but from a technical standpoint the older titles don't stand up to the more modern ones. The series has drastically changed over it's 20 year life span and when offering advice I tend to think it is smarter to play the more recent ones and if you enjoy them go back further to see what else you missed depending on how much you enjoyed the others. "

There are no recurring characters in the Final Fantasy series?

" There are no recurring characters in the Final Fantasy series? "

Sure you could see if you like Final Fantasy by playing XIII.
 
And while you're at it. you could also check if you like Star Wars by watching Episode I.

Play FFVI (There's a good version on the gba, and its one of the best RPGs of all time) then give FFX a shot... if you don't mind the feel of X then you should enjoy FFXIII, if you don't like it, play FFIV

I recommend X as a first Final Fantasy.  It's one of the more popular games (even if it's rarely mentioned as people's favorite ever), still looks great despite PS2 tech, and will still be very cheap to acquire.  I suppose if your wallet is fat, there's no reason not to play XIII when it comes out, but me, I'd hate to drop 60 bucks and get a game experience I won't at all enjoy.  Additionally, XIII isn't out, so no one here can really recommend it unless they've played the Japanese version.   
 
Though you didn't ask, the reason I don't recommend VII and earlier Final Fantasies are the graphics, and VI and earlier Final Fantasies have much more simplistic stories (though still far more complex than say, a Dungeon Siege game) and characters that don't really reflect what you're going to be getting with a new addition to the series.  

Start with any of them.  It really doesn't matter and earlier games will only make you get the occasional inside joke.

The nice thing about the FF 'series' is that,except for X2 and all the FFVII off shoots, none of the games are true sequels. instead they share common themes, references to spells/creatures, and structure. So beginning with XIII is fine. It's not like you'll be missing anything.

Sure there are Final fantasy fans that would argue the contrary, but I cannot imagine that playing any of the older games first will give you any sort of plot benefit. 
 
Start with XIII and if you like it, maybe then go back and see what came before.

Only problem with starting with FFXIII is it's reportedly the hardest Final Fantasy ever, even standard encounters can result in a Game Over, unlike in most of the other games in the series. It's not a problem if you're a JRPG vet, but if you're not I would try some more accessible and less chaotic-looking JRPGs. FFX is probably a reasonable introduction and isn't too dated.

I personally like 1-4 the most so I would say start at 1, but it really doesn't matter since they own have their own separate stories.

Well you could start with FFXIII.... or you could actually play a Final Fantasy game that came out before the series started becoming a mishmash of cliches and melodrama. Which by this I mean the SNES games. IV has a remake on the DS, and V and VI have GBA enhanced ports. You could probably find them easily and, as a person who really isn't into JRPGs, I found them wholly enjoyable by today's standards.
 
But hey, maybe Final Fantasy XIII is actually really awesome. I don't know. I certainly don't plan on getting it.

This game is the most mainstream FF game so i'd start with this

" Start with 6. It's better than 7. "

Theres no relation between them, I don't see the point in playing the older ones now.  Unless it's on a handheld.

I'd say 13.  If you don't have a love for the old games, you could be completely turned off by the graphics or something.  If you like 13, then go back and try older ones.