What is a good lens to use with my Canon Rebel XTi for nice portrait shots with a blurred background?

I’m new at photography at just bought my first digital SLR. I just need suggestions for some lenses that would be good for taking pictures of people with nicely blurred backgounds.

Kill two birds with one stone and buy the Canon 60 mm macro lens. This will give you a high quality lens in the "classic" portrait focal length (effective 96 mm) as well as a good 1:1 macro lens so you can explore another point of view.

I see that B&H has the Canon Normal EF-S 60mm f/2.8 USM Macro Autofocus Lens for $359 after a $25 instant rebate right now. This is a good lens if you can do without a zoom for your portraits.