The two traditional starting points are either The Player of Games or Consider Phlebas, with CP being the actual first book, but it's told entirely through the perspective of someone who is actively engaged in a war on the Culture and also hates it, so you don't really get an internal Culture perspective.
The Player of Games is more friendly that way since it lays out what the Culture is like and how it interacts with others.
Not OP, but while I'm not sure I'd consider one of them to be "better" I'd definitely say that Player of Games is a better intro to the setting, as you get to see the Culture proper and how they interact with both themselves and the rest of the universe.
The two traditional starting points are either The Player of Games or Consider Phlebas, with CP being the actual first book, but it's told entirely through the perspective of someone who is actively engaged in a war on the Culture and also hates it, so you don't really get an internal Culture perspective.
The Player of Games is more friendly that way since it lays out what the Culture is like and how it interacts with others.
Is one considered better?
Not OP, but while I'm not sure I'd consider one of them to be "better" I'd definitely say that Player of Games is a better intro to the setting, as you get to see the Culture proper and how they interact with both themselves and the rest of the universe.