Whenever I or some told about open the mail account I always prefer GMAIL.
why gmail.
Because its very simple and easy. The setting is very simple like how to change your theme, profile picture, password, signature and many more. Everyone can easily handle it.
This is a best service provided by Google.
The Gmail services are always reliable, only a very few times in history had the servers gone down, that too only for a little time.
I would recommend Gmail. If you need an Email account, although there are email service providers as well, but Gmail is best.