Their are lots of different programs, the software board here lists many of them. Read the boards and look to see what people think of the program they bought. Find out if the program comes in a "free" evaluation version. And try them out. Some programs are geared toward beginners and others are more complicated and used by "more involved" genealogists. Programs will try to lock you into their way of doing things so learn a little about genealogy, by joining an active genealogy group and asking to see the programs they use. Having friends you trust give their opinion is very valuable.