Very few of the original games have been released outside of Japan. From what I can gather, this is the order of the ones that have been:
(FE1)Shadow Dragon(DS)
(FE7)Fire Emblem(GBA)
(FE8)Fire Emblem-The Sacred Stones(GBA)
(FE9)Fire Emblem-Path of Radiance(GC)
(FE10)Fire Emblem-Radiant Dawn(WII)
(FE11)Fire Emblem-Awakening(3DS)
As for any recommendations, I myself have only played one of them, The Sacred Stones. I personally found it very fun and addicting, and I can only imagine that the other Fire Emblem for the GBA is much the same. So, if you can, you might want to start with those. I've also heard a lot of great things about Awakening, so check that out if you have the time. But really, you don't actually need to go in any concrete order when playing these games, since they don't follow any real continuity.
Note: FE10 is the only game in the series that is a real sequel, it occurs after the events of FE9.