The best Wally bike for anyone depends on what their goal is and how well the stock bike fits them. The last thing you want is a bike that will be so ill suited to your frame as to make you put it down and not pick it up again. If you find a bike that fits you well in size and personal aesthetic choice at the "mart", the next thing to look at would be the warranty. If, like one current brand sold there, it has a lifetime warranty on frame and forks you would want that one. Some warranties cover other things too for a year after purchase. READ THE WARRANTY.
That should be enough to get you started at a lower price than just to run to the LBS as a first time buyer and fork out cash for a hobby or lifestyle just for a summer until you find out that you may not be that "into it" or it "into you".
The added benefit to a Box Store bike with a lifetime warranty on fork and frame is that you will assuredly learn to become a Home Mechanic when everything not under warranty fails within the first weeks, months or year. Luckily, since many cyclists will have already called you a "fool" for buying what they call a "bicycle shaped object", there will be no shame in replacing the broken parts with cheapish replacements until you have mastered the art of bicycle repair on a "learner" bike that you can screw up on fixing, riding, or the first time thinking you don't really need to use that cumbersome bicycle lock.
Also if touring, by the time you build up to longer distances and buy a better bike, you will already have the confidence in your repair know-how that you learned on the cheaper bike to get you to your destination no matter if it is as simple as replacing a rear brake cable or tube to something more substantial like truing a dinged rim or fixing a bent derailleur while on the road and in the middle of nowhere. All of that with just duct tape, a Swiss army knife, nerves of steel and the self sacrifice of that first little, cheap but decent bike that let itself be called "box-store-bought" just so you could learn.
It can actually be a good thing making your first bike a "on-the-cheap" since, if money is an issue, you may not be able to afford to pay for matching high $$ parts or pay someone to fix any bike problem for you at all. Attempting first repairs on a more expensive bike yourself or having to pay big $$ to someone else could create more problems with enthusiasm and down time than a good (but not great) bike ever would if you wreck it due to a mechanical failure from a bad self-repair you couldn't afford to pay a pro to fix. Yes, cheap bikes get wrecked or mothballed from mechanical failures too but, it is usually just the pride and not the wallet that hurts the most until you can afford to fix it.
If you can afford an expensive bike and pay the LBS to maintain or fix it if you're not mechanically inclined or too lazy to learn then that would be the best option for you. If you can't afford that, get a box store bike with a good warranty on at least the frame and fork in a model that has other parts in a standard and readily available size for a low price while learning the in's and out's of DIY repair on a bike you aren't out lots of $$ if you mess up. It also does no good to save to buy a $600-$1,200 bike if a person can't afford to have it stolen or wrecked, afford to replace parts and pay repair fees that total more than a bike they can actually afford to maintain and/or replace in a week or so if they're having to get from point A to B and no transportation backup plan.
You never see most people who can afford a Ferrari jacking it up and crawling under to fix it because they have the $$ to pay someone to do it and messing up a repair is expensive so, they would rather yell at the hired help. They kind of miss the fun (and DIY pride) of getting a cheapie or fixer-upper back into shape with far less damage to the wallet and they certainly have less eventful rides and stories to tell about!
This has somewhat been my experience, and I'm still into it enough to want to be on a new bike site answering this older post at this hour in the morning. I'm sure lots of people disagree with me due to different experiences in cycling or finances though.
Don't get me wrong, most everyone would rather travel faster and in style on a quality bike but some just can't afford it in the beginning or ever. That's why most people drive cars to get from A to B instead of using their private jet or luxury yacht. It would even be unwise to go large out of the gate if you're unsure about your enthusiasm or how receptive motorists are to cyclists in your area if you've never tried it before.
If you have the idea of cycling in a group on long rides or mountain biking in the back woods then check out the respective bike scene in your area to see if it even exists before spending big $$ on a bicycle if you have to watch every penny and need to be asking about box store bikes. You can afford to be the first or only on a cheaper bike, and if nobody comes along and you decide to quit then you're more likely to sell a 150 dollar used bike in a neighborhood where nobody really rides than a $1000 used bike where nobody rides.
Any which bike you choose, get at least a decent home tool kit together with a pump and basic spare parts like tubes. If it is a box-store bought bike you end up with, it helps to make it a decent travel kit with duct tape, Swiss army knife and a can of Wup-A** for the naysayers.
P.S.= the previous sentence is not my endorsement for anyone to become some type of predatory deviant, just the can of Wup-A** is for naysayers, and only to sip on if they really need a drink.