Hands down, Photoshop 7.0 or CS2 (has both!) is thee best.  The possiblities are endless with em, you can even go to the library and get tutorial books that come with practice disks! I learned from the net, and I now attend technical school for animation.   The problem is that the cost is huge......but no, cost is to much for the love of art! Definatly go for the student discount....at some sites if your a student, you can download it for as low as $99.