I love my retics but probably wouldn't do them again. I'd probably also skip kings, balls, boas and atb's.
I would probably still do corns as I really enjoy them. The down side is they come in so many colors and patterns. Carpets are great once you get passed the nippy stage and I'm still a fan of IJ's.
Really if I was starting over I'd do cooler temp species like some of the old world rats or diamond pythons.