Since Baldur's Gate can be quite difficult sometimes and the AD&D rules aren't the easiest to understand for beginners, i thought a compilation of playguides might be helpful for new players. So maybe we can collect a few good sites here. :)

I'll make a start with a nice site that helped me a lot when i first managed to play through the game. Sadly it's available in german only, but it provides everything one needs to know when he first awakes within the walls of candlekeep. It has tips for character development, all the locations of the secret items, a complete walkthrough and much more. So for those of you who speak or understand german and aren't already Baldur's Gate experts, i strongly recommend this site: http://yiya.de/games/baldur/index.htm

Oh, and they have the same for many other classics, too! (BG2, Icewind Dale, Arcanum, ...)

Other folks have mentioned DSimpson's guide/walkthrough, but I haven't seen a link. There are several places to find it, but I like the plain text, single page version found here:

http://www.gamefaqs.com/pc/75251-baldurs-gate/faqs/2456

I always found this guide useful for locating the quests and locations since it provides a view of each area and what you would find there. The full area map is also useful with other guides too, helps to identify which area many guides are talking about.

http://www.gamebanshee.com/baldursgate/locations.php

IGN has walkthroughs by Steven Carter & manymoose along with other useful listings.

others I found:

http://www.fileplanet.com/13592/10000/fileinfo/The-Complete-Baldur%27s-Gate-Walkthrough
http://www.fileplanet.com/28115/20000/fileinfo/The-Definitive-Baldur%27s-Gate-Walkthrough-v.-1.0


http://www.gibberlings3.net/ also has neat stuff for Gate fans.

For people interested in a guide with NO SPOILERS (none at all!), SixOfSpades has made this excellent guide.
http://www.pocketplane.net/volothamp/bgguide.htm

Dudleyville has a fantastic in-depth walkthrough here:

http://www.forgottenwars.com/bg1/index.htm

Includes stuff like Ankheg Plate +2, gems, and a Ring of Wizardry (double your wizard's first-level spells!) that are hidden in single-pixel crannies early in the game.

There's also this checklist:

http://www.forgottenwars.com/bg1/checklist.htm

Now you can keep track of what you still need to do in each area, and if you've been through this house before.

Finally, Sorcerer's Place has a TON of information about BG I and BG II:

http://www.sorcerers.net/Games/BG/index.php

Also to any new players: DO NOT USE A GUIDE ON YOUR FIRST PLAYTHROUGH! JUST ROLL SOMETHING THAT APPEALS TO YOU AND PLAY!

Desslock has a great guide on Gamespot

While the guides can be incredibly useful, what with this game not being easy to simply pick up and play, the one thing a new player should have is a basic understanding of the AD&D system, and how to create an effective character.
For example, when I learned the rules myself, I managed to make a new playthrough and encounters that originally were impossible, suddenly were quite manageable, as long as proper tactics were employed, of course. ;)

Blackakari has got it completely right: using a walkthrough on your first run spoils a lot of the fun: you can NEVER EVER go back to that first experience of not knowing what's going on, finding out bit by bit. Though the game has use replayability value. DON'T SPOIL YOUR FUN by reading in advance what might happen.

Laidbackgamer has it completely right as well: an understanding of AD&D basics makes the game a lot less frustrating. So I recommend to read one guide only: Dan Simpson's AD&D FAQ:

http://www.gamefaqs.com/pc/75251-baldurs-gate/faqs/8566

It tells in an understandable way what you need to know about Advanced Dungeon & Dragons 2nd Edition ruleset, without spoiling the game.

'Volothamp's Guide' as mentioned above, being spoiler-free, is a recommender as well. I wish that one was available when I first played the game. Though Dan Simpson's Baldurs Gate walkthrough is thorough and helps beating the game, it takes away the wonder. Use it only if you get stuck. Use his AD&D guide as linked above instead, I highly recommend.