Mik3,
It really doesn't matter what AVR you begin with since you are in the learning mode. The neat thing about AVR is that once you learn to program one of the device and that experience will make it easier to program the next one. They all share the same CPU core. The main difference between the members of the AVR 8-bit family are the built-in features and the size of FLASH, SRAM, and EEPROM.
As handy as JTAG and DEBUGWIRE are in debugging, troubleshooting AVR hardware and software are generally very easy.
hgmjr
It really doesn't matter what AVR you begin with since you are in the learning mode. The neat thing about AVR is that once you learn to program one of the device and that experience will make it easier to program the next one. They all share the same CPU core. The main difference between the members of the AVR 8-bit family are the built-in features and the size of FLASH, SRAM, and EEPROM.
As handy as JTAG and DEBUGWIRE are in debugging, troubleshooting AVR hardware and software are generally very easy.
hgmjr