I like cheese. I like all dairy, so I like cheese. I like cheddar. I like mozzarella. I get nauseous when I think about mozzarella, due to a bad experience with processed “mozzarella” a few years back. But I still like eating it. Unfortunately, these are the only cheeses I have had the pleasure of knowing thus far. I go to parties and fancy restaurants and my supermarket deli and try their cheese platters. I enjoy these immensely but have no idea what the heck I’m eating. I have decided to educate myself about the wonderful world of cheese by spending the next few months tasting new cheese. I like hard cheese. I like soft cheese. I do not yet feel ready for the dark dark underground of stinky cheese. Please, recommend me some cheese 
Softer Cheese: Havarti, which you can get plain, or with a variety of flavorings added, like chives or jalapeños.
Semi-soft: Edam, which is somewhat less strong than Gouda.
Hard: Try either an aged Vermont Cheddar, or one of the English varieties like Gloucester.
Then, you can experiment with things that make cheese more strongly flavored, like the ones that have a penicillum mold in them, such as Gorgonzola or Roquefort. Or you can try the softer mold injected varieties like Brie, a popular noshing cheese at parties these days.
And, of course, do not forget the extremely hard grating cheeses of the Italians, such as Asiago, or Parmesan or Romano.
Then, there are goat cheeses (feta, a very popular greek crumbling cheese), sheep cheeses (French Brin d’Amour, softer and relatively mild), goat cheese (chevre from France, e.g.), fresh cheese (curds that are unaged, such as american cottage cheese or Neufchâtel, which is pressed into a block, or the Mexican queso fresco, which I advise you to obtain from a reputable grocer), and the popular whey cheeses (not really “cheese” at all, but made by curdling what little solids are left after the curds of another cheese are taken out; ricotta is the classic example). You can also have a fresh cheese like Mozarella, which is made by taking fresh curds and kneading them under hot water, to make the stringy texture.
Have fun with cheese. Cook with it, eat it plain, put it in salads, enjoy.
Brie, brie, brie, brie…brie drool
Plain room-temperature brie, baked brie, herbed brie, carmelized onion brie, brie kabobs, brie etouffee…
If only one could live consuming nothing but brie and french bread and wine.
For sandwiches, my favorites are sliced havarti or muenster.
Smoked gouda is divine on a tasty whole wheat cracker.
I also love to eat sharp cheeses with a slice of a fresh, crisp apple of a variety on the tart and juicy end of the spectrum.
Mmmmmmm, cheese.
Yeah Brie is a good place to start. Brie as you may know is a soft cheese. If you go to your local big-ass grocery store they will most likely have a standard American Brie wedge. It is a great cheese, but somewhat non distinct. From what I can tell American Brie, Baby Brie, and Camembert are interchangible. Serve it room temberature, and yes you can eat the rind.
Less fancy, you can put a little hunk in a bowl and microwave it. Then dip warm good bread, and apple and pear slices into it.
If you really like it you can start to move to more authentic Bries(And Camemberts) imported from from France. The good ones are usually Raw milk, so there are some health warnings for pregnant women and compromised Immune system people and stuff. It has a lot more flavor, and some of them start to approach the realm of Stinky cheeses. There is notable differences between the cheese types and even makers at that point.
If you live in a decent city find a specialty cheese shop, and see if they hav tastings. They will usually let you try a little nibble of a couple cheeses as samples. They also sometimes have cheese courses, either scheduled or sometimeswhenever you show up, where you spend like 10-15 bucks and taste all kinds of yummy cheeses, and find what you like.
We have a local specialty cheese shop, The Better Cheddar. They have samples of all their cheeses. It’s amazing in there.
Norwegian Gjetost. It’s nutty and smooth and amazing. It’s a little like peanut butter, but it’s still cheese. Worth a try, definitely.
I’m also a fan of Chevre (goat cheese). Amazing on fruit.
Both of the above are available for a good price at my local megamart.
First, you need to find yourself a [del]cheese pusher[/del] cheesemonger of reputable standing. This may be a bit of a problem if you are in [del]the arse end of the world[/del] Perth but ask around.
Next, go at a relatively quiet time when the monger can afford to spend a bit of time with you. Go up, introduce yourself and tell them your name. They should tell you their name back. Remember this name, this is the start of a relationship. Tell them you know absolutely nothing about cheese but you would like to learn, maybe mention a few cheeses you have had before which you have liked and any sort of style which you either enjoy or hate. Don’t feel pressured to try stinky blue cheeses or anything more “complex” if you feel your palate is not up to it. Most people will not like these cheeses when they first start out and some never do. The monger should then give you maybe 4 - 5 samples of different cheeses he has out. Ask questions about the cheese, where its from, what milk it was made from and how it was aged. Try and figure out how all of these factors affect the taste and, most importantly, whether you enjoy the taste or not.
Expect to buy around $25 - $30 worth of cheese on your first visit. Get the monger to write down the name of the cheeses on the wrappers and possible some storage notes if they are delicate cheeses. Go home and eat them. Try with different pairings, fruit, wine, bread, alone, in cooking etc. Make some notes about what you like or do not like about each cheese and how it changes with each tasting. The next time you go back, you can tell the monger about what you bought last time and what your opinion was. Don’t be afraid to give negative opinions on some of the cheeses, it is not an affront on thier selection ability. Everybody has different tastes and knowing what you hate is at least as important as knowing what you love. The monger is now building a fairly detailed profile about your palate based on all this info (make sure he remembers your name because it allows you to be more memorable).
By this stage, you should be well on your way on a personally guided exploration in the world of cheese with an expert by your side. How far you choose to take it from there is up to you.
BTW: This also works very well for wine and frangrances.
I will second this method. I have gotten to the point that I dont even know what I will be walking out with. Yesterday I went to my local cheese pusher Matt who owns The Cheese Stands Alone in Chicago and told him “I had some St. Andre the other night, I liked that. Give me $20 of cheese with one like the St. Andre.”
I ended up with some Duchesse Du Borgogne, an aged Appenzeller, an aged Gouda and a garlic Brie. Yum:)
Castello Blue is a taste of heaven when spread on a cracker or the like. It’s like a slightly firmer brie combined with a gentle but very flavorable bleu. Whenever I have some, I almost feel unworthy.
Now now. Darwin is the arse end of the world. Perth is more like the taint of the world.
… reading more replies, it becomes apparent that I will have to learn to cook and like wine in order to properly enjoy cheese. This seems like quite the expensive habit. Sigh.
Not true. Most cheeses are fine straight up. Sure, you can cook with cheese, but you don’t have to. You can drink wine with cheese, but you don’t have to – wine can enhance the flavor of the cheese. But you don’t need it.
I second the nomination of brie. I like it on french bread, particularly with tomatoes. I also second the nomination of havarti (which is great with a good chardonnay, if you want to go the wine route).
I like to pick up a new and different cheese when I’m at the store, just to try it. Saga bleu is great (creamy like brie, but with a bit of a blue vein; not as overpowering as blue cheese); so is Dubliner (salty/nutty with a texture a bit dryer than swiss cheese); and Manchego (very salty, very yummy).
Okay, that’s actually true. 
Here’s a thread with many Dopers’ favorite cheeses. Mmms, stilton with apricots…
Stilton with port and walnuts. This is what Heaven tastes like.
I like goat’s milk gouda. But I rarely have the same cheese twice, having the good fortune to live near no less than three quality cheese shops. Most recently I got some roasted garlic havarti, to eat with garlic bread and salad.
You don’t have to be a gourmet chef or whatever to enjoy cheese! Although the cheese itself is expensive, depending on the kind; I pay up to $5 per 100 grams (about 1/4 lb), and of course there’s more expensive stuff too. I like eating it in thin slices, with bread dipped in olive oil & balsamic vinegar…okay, time to go buy more cheese now.
Have you eaten a good Swiss cheese? Provolone is good, as is smoked gouda, edam, munster, asiago, asadero, and nuefchatel. Those are good starting points IMO. (You’ve had a good sharp cheddar, haven’t you?)
Pepper jack cheese is really good. Not too fancy, not too exspensive. Also Muenster, Havarti, and Jarlsberg.
Paging Dr. Qadgop! Paging Dr. Qadgop! There is a Code Bleu in progress! Repeat: A Code Bleu in progress!
I’m a cheddar devotee myself. The sharper the better! But I’m in for pretty much any cheese with a bite. I’ve been known to eat a wedge of pecorino romano straight up…
Tillamook Cheddar is manna, I tell ya.
Personally, I can’t stand brie. And my friends that do like it don’t like the outside. But we tend to like sharper cheeses, especially a smoked cheddar sprinkled with paprika. Although there is a nice havarti with dill we really enjoy.
You should try a nice, creamy Havarti. It’s wonderful!