I've been using Paint Shop Pro for years, version 7 has been my favourite, ideal for digital photos & postwork. I have recently bought Pro Photo XI & while it's took me some time to get used to a new interface & stuff there are some good effects to be had with this for postwork. I now also have a full working trial version of Photoshop CS2. Now I agree with others that it can be a bit daunting at first because we have been so used to PSP but it you stick with it there is a lot of cool stuff you can do with it. I will continue to work with this program to achieve what I can out of it, but I will still be using PSP because it is a dream to use.

Ideally it is best to have both programs, but if you are serious about postwork & money is no object then PS CS2 is probably the way to go. But still try to get PSP because of its ease of use.