I recommend a Canon. I love my 350D. And it's ability to fit any Canon lens out there.
In the Digital Vs Analog discussion, i'm still leaning towards digital. I just don't have the patience to wait for a film to be developed, and THEN I need to scan the pictures.
I like how I can take a shitload of pictures and throw my pictures on my mac in less than 5 seconds and start to organize, alter, manipulate, et cetera.