I like the way you stated the question. Individual personal opinion changes the value of any item. And since you posted this for newbies...
"Value" is a tricky word.

I love how TV commercials say things like "get these ginsu steak knives, a 99 dollar value, for only 19.95!"
To me "value" is what something is worth to me personally and has nothing to do with a sales price or what value the seller wants me to think it is. So if I think the ginsu steak knives are worth about 50 cents, then that is the value to me, not 99 bucks or 19.95.
Most shooters prefer certain grip angles and types of actions better than others. The feel of the gun to the individual is more important than price in my opinion. Shipwreck may value the P99 a lot higher than someone else who does not like the way it feels in his hand.
My view of value is usually made with concealed carry in mind. But if it is a gun for casual range shooting or a collector piece of course my view is different.
Caliber. Some guns are only available in certain calibers. 9mm and 40S&W are my favs but I carry .380 and 45acp sometimes also.
Reliabilty. If I cannot count on the thing to go bang when I really need it to, or if it has a reputation of breaking, or if it only feeds or fires certain ammo types, it may not have much value above an average paper weight to me. In my experience, Glock, SIG, Springfield XD, CZ, and Walther, run great. I don't trust S&W autos but their revolvers are great. I don't trust Kahr or Kel-Tec at all.
Size, weight, and round count. If it is a carry gun, this can be very important. How much weight do I want to lug around all day? How many shots do I have without reloading, how easy is it to conceal with different types of clothing? I will usually opt for a narrow single stack gun for easier concealability. This lowers my round count so I carry an extra mag sometimes.
Pointing and comfort. When bringing the gun up to fire quickly, you want it to "naturally" point at the target with your wrist straight and without having to adjust your grip. Some guns have replaceable backstraps to assist in getting the gun to point straight for different sized hands. Others can be improved with different grips.
Action type. Some people like Double Action or Single Action, some prefer external safeties and other people don't. I prefer DA/SA with a de-cocker the most. And I like DAO the least of all actions.
The price is only important once I've decided that I may want to buy it based on the above criteria. Or when I am trying to decide between two similar guns.
My opinion of best value is... the SIG P239 in 40S&W. It just feels right to me. Easy to conceal, points great, reliable as you can get.
I carry... (not at once)
SIG P232 .380
Walther P99cAS 9mm
SIG P239 40S&W
SIG P245 45ACP
I also think these are good values also, some I already have and some I want to get.
Springfield XD9 9mm
CZ75 SP01 9mm
FNP9 9mm
HK P2000 9mm
Glock 17 9mm
Glock 19 9mm
Glock 26 9mm
Kimber Ultra Carry II 45ACP
TA