You can mention Corel and PaintShop Pro, but the extensive support for professional use, make Adobe Photoshop the winner.
Mastering this software is not an easy task. It will cost you a lot of time and money, that you should wisely spend. If you just want to make some cool facebook profile photo or give special effect to some text, Photoshop not for you! You must be expecting some return for you investment of time and money, while learning Photoshop.
Photoshop is not a hooby, it is a job that pay some good money to some people. If you decide that this software for you, be serious to learn about it, until you master it.
