Welcome spider! Zbootsboy gave you an excellent listing! You will also want to check out past forum threads as they contain a huge amount of information and some very cool links! Another way to determine what direction you want to go with fractals is to tour the gallery (which you've already done) and talk to the artists whose fratals you like best to see what programs they use! Keep us posted on how you do and fee free to post questions as you go :) There are some extremely talent and knowledgeable folks in here!