mausermadness
Plinker
This all comes down to personal preference. With the price raising on what I would consider a good AK I would venture into a good AR first (they can be had for more reasonable amounts). What ever you do, research the rifle you are looking at thoroughly. Not all AK's and not all AR's are equals. I'm personally an AK fan and would agree with the previous post that a PSA GF3 is the bare minimum to get into the AK game. I would suggest a WASR personally, but that might just be my personal bias speaking. There will be more advisable people on AR's if you decide that route. Either way, research well, don't be quick to buy the cheapest version of either, get familiar with it and enjoy it