Never played an RPG before

100 hours! dont think i can invest that much time. might just have to send my wife off to the outlaws for a week

I might get a little flamed for this one, but if you would like a game that is a little more strategic and still maintains a fun bit of fantasy, try The Last Remnant. I really enjoyed the game.

The Dues EX games are definitely worth a look,

So are the Bio Shock games. 

+1 for Knights of the Old Republic.

It's actually a RPG unlike half the titles in this thread. And it's probably the most accessible true RPG.

 

Then once you play that, you can move on to the real golden age of RPGs like the Baldur's Gate series.

+1 to chrono trigger

and I would say skyrim is a good start, but I love Oblivion, one of the best Elder Scrolls games in my opinion, and not terribly difficult.

Yes to Balder's Gate! I love those games!

shadowrun dragonfall directors cut. shadowrun returns isnt that good and isnt necessary at all to play dragonfall

kotor/kotor2-a great place to start if you remotly like the star wars universe.

skyrim

Do remember when playing the Witcher 2 to put the difficulty into Insane because who needs save files anyway?

I would highly suggest that if you are going to play a Witcher game to start with the first one and move through the series.  The first game didnt get anywhere near the press of the 2nd one, but it is a great game (especially the Enhanced Edition which fixed a lot of issues).  Also, starting with the first one will give you an idea of the back story and how the series is changing/developing.

Definitely agree with KotOR series.  However, depending on what games the OP is used to playing, they might feel a bit dated.  Perhaps not though - they are great games.

I know mine is actually an RPG, but falls more along the gameplay style of a JRPG than traditional. Still and RPG though.

That wasn't to you, as I don't actually know what The Last Remnant is (my JRPG knowledge extends to Final Fantasy and that's about it), it was more to replies such as Bioshock and Diablo 2... and to a lesser extent, Skyrim.