Help choosing Nikon dslr lens?

I bought my nikon d3100 about a year ago and I'm thinking about buying a new lens (i have the kit lens now). I want something versatile and below $300 if possible. I was thinking a telephoto. I want to be able to shoot nice portraits and also get a good bokeh effect (lower f stop numbers than a kit lens).So give me any advice or suggestions on a good, reasonably priced lens!

You can look at the 35mm f/1.8 lens, which will give you a normal view (like how you see out of your eyes).It is not telephoto

you can also look at the 50mm f/1.8G lens which is also fast and slightly telephoto, this is what you would want to get for portraits

I agree with the Dr there. The 35mm and the 50mm would both do a great job on portraits. I have the 50mm and I truly enjoy it.

You really can't find a telephoto lens with a greater aperture than f/3.5-5.6 for less than $300. For portraits, you can get a Nikon 35mm f/1.8G for about $200 or a NIkon 50mm f/1.8G for about $220. For telephoto, you can get a Nikon 55-200mm for about $200 but it is a f/4-5.6.

You got the 55-200mm lens which is great, and you can shoot whatever you want to with it… Its not like the lens will magically transform when you photograph people.

You also have 50mm f/1.8, 35mm f/1.8 as excellent prime lenses with wonderful bokeh, sharp images and great quality.

Here's a Lens Buying Guide - http://www.the-dslr-photographer.com/2009/11/buying-a-lens/

You can consider Nikon 35mm It is also perfect for portrait and other general purposes (semi-macro etc). This lens also produces nice bokeh. The picture quality and bokeh quality are comparable with the other Nikon prime lenses (50mm f/1.8, 50mm f/1.4, 50mm f/1.4 AF-S etc) lens which are famous for being sharp. Overall, this is a very versatile lens.