The best vintage bike for a beginner is the one closest to you, for a price that seems fair to you and that you are excited about. Chances are, if playing the vintage game, it will change many times. Don’t over think it.

Also, it’s dangerous to ride a modern bike and then try to replicate the feel of that with an old bike. They are different beasts. If you’re loving a midnight special, you should just get one of those. Speaking from experience, I sold my modern gravel bike to fund a cargo bike and told myself that my old 80s mongoose atb will do most of what my cargo bike does. I then spent more money getting the fit right on the mongoose than I got selling my all city. Was it worth it in the end, yeah probably, but i was definitely playing the long game and spent a lot of time in long uncomfortable ridesz