I started off with Brahms, Chopin, Mozart and Beethoven......pretty standard introduction imo. I highly recommend them as a starting point and their compositions are varied, well covered and readily available.
When I started to 'explore' a bit more, I gravitated towards Sergei Rachmaninoff. He was as brilliant as anyone else, and wrote some tremendous piano-specific pieces (my favorite instrument).
Personally, I recommend focusing on chamber music to start. It's simpler music performed by smaller groups. It can pack a real punch, has tremendous spirit/soul and is (imo) easier to appreciate than large performance pieces.
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