I agree ball pythons are great but they really are the "pet rocks" of the snake world lol. I would second the jungle carpet if you get a really nice high yellow one you won't be able to stop staring at it. Plus you can handle them readily unlike some GTP's.

I've recently been really into the rarer boa species. You might want to consider dominican red mountain boas (or anything in the strigilatus/striatus complex), jamaican boas, rainbow boas (not as rare). Theres a ton of awesome snakes that you never hear about if you look into it.