Verified answer

It is worth starting with issue 1 for Spider-Man, but by no means neccessary. Recently they erased a lot of Spider-Man's history so now would be a great time to start. I would suggest looking up the story arc called "Brand New Day". It follows up the storyline called "One More Day". Because I was a long time fan and objected to his storyline being altered so much, I have stopped reading, but I wouldn't discourage a new fan from reading his new adventures.

I would also mention that it is possible to get his back stories in oversized black and white reprints called The Essential Spider-Man which has many volumes. I hope this helps.

If you start at #1 you will be reading for the rest of your life. Find a story arc that you like and start from there.

Try Ultimate Spider-Man. Its only about 100 or so issues into it and its really good.