My 2p worth:
Either Canon or Nikon. I have only ever played with the canon in shop but have two nikon DSLR (and 3 SLRs as well). Owning a Nikon SLR was probably the biggest factor in choosing the Nikon DSLR.
I cant comment on the current models though. My brother has just got (ok a while ago) a D3500, nice bit of camera bit is in the mid range rather that entry