If I was going to invest money, and more importantly time in getting somewhat better at learning a photo editing tool, which one would you advise? MeMongo has some good contributions on here, but I know that there are more bitmap-wizards out there that have input.

So... Here are my weighted criteria:

1) I'm not looking for a second career so I'm willing to sacrifice a small amount of functionality in favor of ease-of-use

2) When it comes to cost, the far more expensive consideration to me at this point is "time-to-learn" cost rather than purchase price.

3) Features - I'm a little embarrassed to have this be the THIRD criteria because it implies that I'm not that serious about this, but I'm really after some basic functionality that can be wielded quickly rather than something that requires two hours, 23-layers and a long in-depth study of masks and their application in order to produce a quick idea.

Your input is solicited and appreciated.