No offense was meant by post of coure to Rat
I was just pointing out to Scott that there is no reason to be discouraged, all classes have their place, some just come into their own later than others.
Fighters, Paladins, and Rangers--Every group needs them. They are the brute strength of the group. Can't beat their hit dice, to hit numbers, etc. Paladins and Rangers when played well also add a lot to a group. Pretty good at all levels of the game.
Clerics and Druids--The quintessential healers, also needed in every group. They are also, and often forgotten, the second best meleers of the classes. Add that to pretty lenient armor restrictions (in some cases none) and the ability to cast spells and you have a powerful class at higher levels.
Wizards--Pretty poor when it comes to physical assets and combat, but that is why they are wizards. There shortcomings seem insurmountable in the early stages, but once you cast that first Fireball and wipe out an entire war band of baddies in a single flick of your finger, you feel pretty good.
Thieves--Great class all around. They are the skill monsters of the game. They have a plethura of skills and nothing beats a nice back stab. Their combat skill is so-so early on and they'll never be as good as fighters in that area (as well they shouldn't) but they can give any class a run for their money just on their varied skills (when used properly).
Bards--Jack of all trades. The only thing they seem to lack is healing ability. They get theif skills and magic-user spells. Due to their skills at inspiration and negating certain spell types, I think they are a really party friendly class.
Thus ends my unprovoked editorial...LET'S KILL SOME ORCS!!