I got my first mechanical board last December for Christmas, a Rosewill RK-9000 Blues. I love that board and it got me hooked on mechs. A couple of months ago a Dell AT101W popped up on my local craiglist for $3, I jumped on that and got it for $12 shipped. Black Alps are alright but I mostly got it so my brother could have a mech board and get rid of his POS with a bigass enter key. Then just this week I found an Acer 6311-K on ebay for $28 shipped and am using that currently while the glue on my Rosewill is drying (Securing the mini usb connector). I am actually really loving the Black Acer switches, feel better and have a click unlike the Black Alps.
So I guess I'm just saying I love geekhack and can't wait to get more boards. What were your first Mechanical boards?