Which AR-15? Brand?

Any big name firearm company would be a decent choice, picking out the best customer service may be a way to narrow it down. All of the company's listed make quality ar15 rifles, you just need to decide your budget, necessary features, etc. Many people have good luck with the S&W offerings, as well as Ruger for decent priced entry-level guns, both have great warranties. Colt builds some pretty high-quality guns for the money, and I've never heard a complaint about anything from Daniel Defense. Psa also has some pretty darn good stuff at rock bottom prices as well.

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You are going to get 10 (or 20!) different answers, each one with plenty of good reasoning behind their opinion. My suggestion is to do some research of reviews on the brands that interest you most, check them out in person at your local gun store, and go with the one that feels most comfortable to you.

What do you want to do with it? Room clearing? Home defense? Long range shooting? Prairie dogs or coyotes? What's your budget?

There are going to be some compromises if you want to do all of the above, especially if you want to hunt at distances over 200 yards. You would be better off getting a basic upper and a flashlight for everything but hunting, and then a dedicated hunting upper. As long as you don't go with a hair trigger, a single lower would suffice for both. Trust me, you don't want a hair trigger on a gun you may use for self-defense.

This would suffice for all non-precision shooting needs, and is almost exactly what I use for multi-gun competitions where all shots are going to be less than 100 yards. If it is like mine, it will last for thousands of rounds before a $150 barrel change is needed.

http://palmettostatearmory.com/psa-...s-moe-blk-without-bcg-or-charging-handle.html
http://palmettostatearmory.com/palm...remium-full-auto-bolt-carrier-group-8779.html
http://www.primaryarms.com/bcm-gfh-556-mod-4/p/bcm-gfh-556-mod-4/
http://www.primaryarms.com/primary-...-iii-eta-midlate-april-2016/p/pawl-2bkgeniii/
http://www.primaryarms.com/mag248-blk/p/mag248-blk/

You budget is, how should we say, extensive. If I had $2000 to start from scratch, a large amount of that money would used on a nice optic, extra magazines, an enhanced trigger and a few spare parts. As it stands right now, I have almost as much money is optics for my three ARs as I do in the guns themselves.

Stag arms

For just something simple but good, in no particular order: DPMS, rock river, S&W, PSA, bushmaster. Whichever one you can get cheapest. You may be better off getting the complete upper you want from PSA or model 1, then getting a complete lower from wherever. Not really "building" one- just slapping the 2 halves together and pushing 2 pins.

Personally I refer Rock River for a factory gun, they offer a cryo treated barrel as standard on most models and it's one of the few modern gimmicks I think really makes a difference. I shoot an ATH upper for 3 gun with the chromed BCG and it's the easiest cleaning gun I've ever owned, the cryo treating really seems to make a difference with no perceptible change in POI when the barrel gets hot. I also use their 2 stage match trigger which I think highly of.

For me BCM and Colt would be at the top of a very short list.

If you learn to build your own, the 100 dollars or so worth of tools you will need will pay for themselves with the first build and you will have EXACTLY the rifle you want.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

PSA actualy makes a decent gun. The standard complete lower comes with a clean breaking 2 stage trigger. I got no desire to modify my trigger. Anyway, the standard complete lower is now on sale for $160, the PTAC upper is $200, and the BCG is $80. PSA is out of charging handles right now, but you can get one from Midwat for $20. Not much to brag about on the range, but it will shoot.

Doc Samson answered your question in post 3, the rest is redundant. Buy the rifle in the price bracket you choose as all the major brands are good to go for the average shooter. If heading to a foreign desert is your desire then be very critical in your choice.

2 grand buys you whatever your heart desires. The best suggestion I have seen on here so far is to figure out a standard gun to get and then get a second upper. You can get a decent complete factory built gun for 600 pretty easy and 700 gives you a bunch of options. Put another 400 into a nice upper for longer range shooting and 400 on glass for that upper. You now have about 500 to buy ammo and a few good bolt on bits to make it yours. In that position I buy another complete lower and a pile of 10 and 20 round mags. 30 rounders can be difficult to use if your using a rest or bench. 20s work well for me but I keep a couple 10s handy.

BCM and Colt are my default choices considering assembly, testing protocols, quality material in components, quality control, and price. Im sure there are other great brands too. These are just my preference, so feel free to take it with a grain of salt.

For $2K, it'd be a 6920 or BCM standard mid, an aimpoint pro, surefire light, vcas sling, a dozen D&H mags and ammo for me. Not a lot you cannot do reasonably well within the 5.56 limits with that setup.

As mentioned previously, just about all makers make a nice AR. It's up to you to research the features that you feel that are important to you and buy an AR tailored as closely as possible to your needs since you don't seem to be inclined to modifying a rifle to suit your needs.

is chrome lining important? How about the ability to mount lights and other accessories? Do you want a 16" barrel for closer work, 20" standard or 18" compromise? in addition to this forum, a great place to start is over at AR15.com. also, make sure that you price shop online for a fair price before plunking down your cash. it is fair for your local gun store to charge a hundred or so for the convenience and service, but don't get gouged.

For your budget you can get a nice Colt 16" with railed forend and a good optic like an Aimpoint PRO. Both would give you great resale value in the future as well as meeting 99% of the needs of an "average joe".

My son had some specific things he wanted on his latest AR and we couldn't find a factory built gun with exactly what he wanted. He came over to the house and we built him his own gun last weekend. You can order everything you want and build it for less than you can generally buy a factory gun, and have it configured exactly like you want it in an afternoon. But you said you don't want to build one, so the recommendation to pick any manufacturer with the specifics that are acceptable to you would be your best choice.

entry level, Colt Expanse, Windham Weaponry, the original Bushmaster people are hard to beat. Ruger 556 or DPMS also reasonable price....better buy now, the gun scare is on, last week saw my gun dealer go right thru a sale in a few minutes...yesterday a 30 minute wait....hurry buy your arms NOW

I just finished making that decision . I went with the Colt 6920. Right at $1000 . I couldn't be happier with my entry into the world of the AR.

Not long ago, BCM or Daniels Defense would have been my go to answer, but today I'm buying Sons of Liberty Gun Works gear. These guys are a young company but are making a huge name for themselves due to the quality of their components. I own two complete lowers and will be buying their uppers and BCG's from now on.

Here are a couple interesting reviews:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Vqww1vOmtY

http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2016/01/jon-wayne-taylor/gun-review-2/

They are quickly building a growing following at www.m4carbine.net. I've met the owners. They are serious about building top quality guns.

I bought this one. Comes with fantastic warranty. Good shooter too.

https://core15rifles.com/core15-tac-iii-rifle.html

Don't want to build one. We want one that shoots good right out of the box but there are so many different AR-15's being made. I know I do want a handle on it like the original AR-15.
Bravo, Colt, Sig, Smith & Wesson, Daniel Defense, Troy, LWRC, Rock River Arms, etc.

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If you want it to shoot good out of the box and you have 2K for the rifle and the optic, you have a lot of choices.
Honestly, if you have the time and aren't in a hurry I would go somewhere like M4Carbine.net and do some serious research about what makes a good AR.
If you want an answer without the trouble of researching why "This is Better than That?" Here is my advice:
Go Buy a Colt 6720 and a Vortex Viper PST in 2.5-10x32 and a good quality mount and you cannot go wrong. That's a quality carbine with a quality optic that will last you a lifetime.
Go buy 50 USGI Magazines and 5K rounds of ammo and you're in the mix.

Is this normal? Recommending to go out and buy $4k worth of gear right out of the gate for a AR newbie?
I don't see how anybody wouldn't just say to bite the bullet and build one. Buying a complete gun seems to always turn into buying different parts later that would have been bought in the first place if built right the first time.
This was me a few weeks ago but now I have exactly the gun I want with optics, a few mags, 1250 rounds and I spent only about $1200 total. It was a budget build but done carefully(NB bcg, billet upper, vortex red dot, etc) so I'm not repurchasing parts later.
Of course if you are planning on buying one to have it sit in a safe 99.9% of the time, really have no interest in the platform and maybe plan to shoot it once a year if ever, then it does make sense to buy a complete gun.
Why spend piles of cash if this is just a last second shopping trip to get an AR before the boogeyman starts banning them?
$2k just for a gun alone not including the optic, mags, ammo, etc just seems like overkill unless money was no object in which case why even have a budget. Just go click on the "sort by high to low" tab and choose the most expensive stuff.