| Sensor size / pixel density starts to affect noise too. The race for bigger numbers of MP for the stickers is making smaller pixel 'wells' with less sensitivity.
Sites like dpreview.com and steves-digicams.com have good reviews - pick a price point and see what they say... but like others have said, you can't go wrong with an SLR (unless you want to put it in your jeans pocket!)
Religion is like a huge dog. If it's yours it's very friendly and comforting, but it scares the heck out of everyone else. | 
