Avoid purchasing a set as most contain knives that may not be useful. Instead, select a few essential knives -- ala cart and add on as the need arises. A good starter set for Western cooking would likely include a chefs knife, a paring (or petty), a bread knife, and a meat slicer. The paring (or petite) are for tasks when you need something less cumbersome, more precise than a larger chefs knife. Bread knife and meat slicer are likely to be the most used occasional usage knives.
The Chefs knife will likely be the main workhorse, so its really important to ferret out whichever one bests fits within your budget, cutting preferences, etc. Things to consider...
Length = go with the longest one that you and your workspace can handle (8 or 10" is most common).
Shape = (German, French, Santoku).
...German shape features a pronounced curve or belly that progresses from the middle of knife to the tip. It's designed for cutting stokes where part of the blade (often the tip) remains in contact with the cutting board -- rock-chopping (rocking against the belly), and heel cuts cutting with the heel of the blade.
...French shape is more triangular, most flat edge with pointy tip; designed for cutting strokes where the blade remains parallel with the cutting board -- draw slicing (pulling from heel to tip or sliding from tip to heel) and push cuts (pushing down & forward).
...Santoku is a short chefs knife with a blunted tip; for applications where a larger, pointed tip knife would cause more harm than good.
Steels = sort of fall into the European (soft) or Japanese (hard) camp.
...Euro-steeled chefs knives, traditionally have thick, heavy, soft (~52-56HRC) blades capable of handling heavy-duty chores (cutting around / through poultry / fish bones, splitting thick-skinned veggies), and withstanding misuse (dishwasher, sink drop) without breaking or chipping. The blade acts like a wedge & splits (as opposed to cut) foods apart; making it better at coarse cutting, but also heavy, thick and ponderous for fine cutting. Theyre easily sharpened and dulled.
...Japanese steeled chefs knives (aka gyuto) in contrast to its durable European counterparts are "performance-driven". Most commonly have a French shaped blade that are lighter, thinner, and hardened to (~5865HRC). Thin, hard blades are optimized for precision cutting and slicing, can take more acute edges and stay sharper longer. But are more difficult to sharpen, and more easily damaged from improper usage. They are not made for chopping / impacting hard items (shells, bones, frozen food) or prying.
Wusthof (Henckles and many euro brands) better models use a type of steel called X50CrMoV15 (or something similiar) with a German profile blade. Often the differences may be a different handle or slightly thicker / thinner, harder / softer blade, but the net effect is insignificant. If anything, Wusthof tend to be neutral balanced, where Henckles are handle heavy. Henckle also has some Japanese steeled models, but i've not handled them.
Shun offers free sharpening and is one of the few Japanese brands available at any W&S, SLT, etc. Unlike many Japanese knives that have a French shape blade, Shuns' chef knives have a modified German shape blade with a high tip & curved heel. It's shape makes rocking easier, but at the same time getting the tip down & long strokes are more cumbersome.
Global and Mac have a french shaped blade. The Global is very light, agile, and cuts very well, but the handle (being metal and uniquely shaped) may or may not work for you (try to handle them before deciding). Mac (pro) is very good knife; iirc is tempered between than the average euro and japanese steels.
I'm not sure if they can do a gift registry, but if you need more options, check out
http://www.chefknivestogo.com/
