Your location matters too when coming up with a suitable location to get youir btc. in my case am not in the states and thus i cant use coinbase. there are numerous sites which can now be used when making a btc purchase. some of the sites which have reasonable rates include the following.
1. localbitcoin
2. Coinmama
3. Bitstamp
you also have to factor in the amount of btc you will be acquiring. i realized that some of the sites are suitable for people who want to acquire small amount of btc when compared to the rest. this is due to the difference in charges in place.