If I was going to look forward to playing any of the Anno games, what game(s) should I aim for first?

Having never played any in the series I'm curious as to which one would be most enjoyable right off the bat.

I'm also curious as to what sort of DRM these games have, and if any of the games could ever be on GOG.

Thanks for any info or recommendations! Some of the games look good, but I like to see personal opinions too to see what I should expect.

You should play Anno 1404 and only that. It's definitely the best one.

btw. I don't know why Anno series are not on GOG yet. Makes no sense -.-

I've only ever played Anno 1602 (the first one) and although I enjoyed it a lot I wouldn't recommend it. There were a lot of flaws and weird stuff there. The most frustrating one: at some moment you may realize that you cannot proceed any further developing your city because you designed it in a bad way which wasn't that apparent at the beginning so I was hardly your fault. So in the end you have no other option that to restart the whole mission. Conclusion: no, it's not a good game to start with. I would trust keeveek on that matter.

Also: it's indeed very strange that this franchise is not here. It was acquired by Ubisoft I think so I so no real reason why it's not here yet.

I'd also recommend starting with Anno 1404 (also known as Dawn of Discovery), as I think this is the best part of the series. However, I only played with Anno 1701, Anno 1404, and the demo version of Anno 2070.

Anno 1404 has great gameplay (at least in my opinion) and beautiful graphics.

Edit: I'd be very happy if some Anno games would be here (hoping, as Ubisoft adds games to the GOG catalogue from time to time, soon Settlers IV Gold Edition will be added too.)

Thanks for the recommendations. I'll aim for Anno 1404 (Dawn of Discovery).

While a different series and developer/publisher, I hope to also see Europa Universalis here sometime.

I also hope Anno 1404 works on Windows 8 . I know some games have had issues. The first windows 7 game I tried to run on my windows 8 PC (Conquest: Frontier Wars), didn't work. If I buy a hard copy at some point of the others perhaps I'll have better luck (?)

That's ^ good news indeed about Settlers IV. I've been waiting for it!

I've played 1602, 1503, and a bit 1701 and 1404. I call myself fan of the series. You can consider 1503 as an improvement of 1602. It's graphically old, so you can play it on any system. I like it and I look forward to own it again.
It's DRM free on Gamersgate.
http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-A1503G/anno-1503-gold-edition

1701 got Tages :(. Graphically better but not much changes in gameplay from its predecessor.

http://www.gamersgate.com/DDB-A1701GE/1701-ad-gold-bundle

1404 got Tages too :(. You have to colonize desert island (or trade with the native desert people) for unique commodities needed to further upgrade your main island's settlement.

http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-A1404GOLD/anno-1404-gold

If graphics matters to you but you like age of sails era, play 1701 or 1404.

I haven't played 2070, but it's highly recommended too. It's set in near future era. You're dealing with ecological problems. Balancing between nature conservation and economy. If you like futuristic setting, pick it. Besides, it has most unique setting compared to the others. Gameplay significantly differs too.

I think at least 1503 should be on GOG.

Isn't there a real problem with DRM in 2070? I seem to remember hearing much complaints.

I think with anno 2070, the drm on that at first was 3 limit installation (even changing a gpu used up an activation - really bad) But they removed that... i think, not 100% sure, you would have to check. You still have to use Uplay which means a game i refuse to buy/play. (I think when it first came out, you had the 3 limit and always online Uplay... but they changed the always online i think?) Regardless, it's one of the many companies i refuse to buy games from with ludicrous Drm.

If I recall correctly 1404 also has UPlay integrated.
Well OP, if you prefer DRM Free, then 1503 is your only option. :)

It is? I don't know anything about it. I remember they removed all DRM in a patch.

I don't know about gold edition though.