Reine des Violettes is mauve, fragrant and thornless which may be important near the front door. A lot of roses are pink, however look at some of the Austin roses like Jude the Obscure (Yellow, grapefruit fragrance) or Evelyn (apricot, fragrance used by Crabtree and Evelyn). You need a hardy rose for zone 5. If you buy a grafted rose, bury the bud union 3 inches below the ground.

Here is a link that might be useful: Reine des Violettes

Start by telling us where you are. Disease pressure varies greatly with location, and what is easy in some places can be very hard in others.

I'm in the capital district of NY State.

I'd recommend Julia Child. It's been very healthy and hardy for me. Bright sunny yellow blooms that have a licorice scent and it blooms all summer.

Julia Child is the rose I normally recommend for first time rose growers. My climate is different from yours, but I believe she does well in most places. Continuous bloomer from spring through fall, very fragrant, good disease resistance (she will blackspot some here, but even knockouts have bs in our humidity) and is long lasting if you like to cut some for vases inside. The other Easy-to-Love Roses from Weeks Roses (Cinco de Mayo, Hot Cocoa, Livin' Easy, Easy Does It, Easy Going, etc) are all very easy roses here, but none of them are as fragrant as Julia.
Many of the Antique/OGRs (like the Reine des Violettes previously recommended...that one is beautiful, but I'm not sure you will get enough repeat bloom after it's big spring flush to please you for a rose by your front door) would be candidates for a first time rose, but someone closer to your area would be better able to suggest which of those would be good performers for you.

Julia Child:

Julia Child is lovely. That may be my first rose. Of many, I think. :-)

You people are amazingly helpful. Glad I found this forum. What would you recommend for a sunny spot in the back yard?

We just moved into this house (September) and there's just about zero landscaping. Unless you count a lilac in full shade (needs to move) 1 dead azalea (choked out by something invasive), 2 living azaleas; and a bunch of huge oak trees.

Forget about the forum. Go to the rose garden in Central Park in Schenectady. They are doing Earth Kind trials there, so will have roses that are growing in your climate without sprays. See what looks good. See what looks bad. You may end up walking down a totally different garden path than what you expect.

I think going to the rose garden is a good idea, you really want to plant what is going to do well in your region. That way you should have good success and enjoy your roses more. Roses love sunny spots too! I just recently planted several roses and used this forum for ideas and advice and when I went to the local nursery to buy my roses I was confident in my decisions. I made a list of what I wanted and the nursery staff helped with what works in my zone 8 climate. Good luck in your rose journey, just beware..... Roses are additive once you start :).

I wouldn't ignore the forum. However, it really is a good idea to visit a local arboretum and/or nursery. They should be very knowledgeable of the local growing conditions, varieties that should do well in your area, local bugs and other issues that are in that area, and just someone good to be there to answer questions. Buy some things from them and you can develop a good working relationship. Nurseries, after all, are in business to make money. I like to support local businesses. I buy things online, and things from local businesses. I am extremely lucky in that my partner lives up the street from a county garden center (it's actually a park), and one of her best friends is a master gardener.

Update us on the roses you decide to plant!

I'm curious to know what roses you decided on planting?