joey,
welcome!
there are several programs available that do all the same thing (more or less). the top 2 would probably be photoshop cs2 and painter ix. the difference between these two would be that painter has more of a traditional feel to its use of brushes.
example:
painters watercolor brushes feel and act more like real watercolor brushes, but really that's for traditionalist's to debate. both programs put out astonishing content. take a peek at www.cgtalk.com and look in their cg choice gallery 2d forum. amazing stuff.

i personally use photoshop. it's what i bought so it's what i use. i am very happy and satisfied with photoshop. i have not found anything it can't do for me yet. if anything...it is more intelligent than the artist using it! lol!

there will be a learning curve with whatever program you choose but you probably can't go wrong with either one. you can create from day one with satisfing results.

hopefully more folks will chime in with their own evaluations.
good luck.

Comitted to excellence through art.