I am more inclined towards Canon due to my past experience with Canon point and shoot. Serious advice is desired on deciding between these dSLRs. Thanks!

Nikon...I got one and I just cant stop praising my Nikon !!!

The best entry level DSLR in Market is Pentax k-x. 

Owned and used all non digital,could not find any differences because of not being a professional. Though I like the Nikon.

hey amnesiac74, i am also in the same boat. I guess you are also graduating to dSLR like me. 

Thanks all! All the info. has been helpful. Keep it coming. Anyone has hands on experience with T1i? (I need to go to best buy and do that)

Get canon. DSLR is all about the lens and with Canon you will have a wide array of selections as compared to Nikon.

i have been using NIKON D 90 for last one year,i find it very easy and yet sturdy in my hands,easy to play with S,F,saturations etc,Awesome pictures,i think its ur skill later on with practice that makes u better n better,go and play with it best buy and go for one which you feel comfortable.good luck.

Hey nice choices. But I'd say go with Canon Rebel T1i. I own canon XTi and it is simply amazing. I may end up upgrading to Canon Rebel T1i soon. It is the latest introduction to Canon's Rebel family. The camera is very sharp and precise. It also has the feature to capture HD video.
When I got my first Rebel XT, I did a lot of research and almost all of my findings showed that Canon was better than Nikon. Both have their own specialties and drawbacks. But people's thoughts and opinions varies.

For more review on your choices see the following link:

Nikon:
http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-cameras/nikon-d5000-with-18/4505-6501_7-33623155.html

Canon:
http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-cameras/canon-eos-rebel-t1i/4505-6501_7-33567129.html

After watching the recent cnet reviews on both of these dSLRs, I felt that the reviewer would rather buy Nikon while supporting Canon equally.

To me it summarizes as:
1. Canon has larger selections for lenses (from earlier posts),
2. Is about the same price as Nikon (online) and gives more megapixels than Nikon does,
3. Video capture fps is a little higher in T1i than in D5000 (from cnet),
4. Nikon feels more sturdy while holding (a plus for Nikon) but when i felt it at bestbuy T1i fits okay too,

So, all it comes down to is for how much I get buy a nice bundle with tripod and carrying case included. I am still looking forward to more pros and cons from the real users. In the meantime I ll look for a cheaper vendor online. I appreciate all the thoughts posted in this thread.

dont make mistake by buying DSLR for kids.

This might also help:

Amnesiac74

My best bet is SONY Alpha. Have been using it for almost a year. It is user friendly with awesome pics.

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=sony+alpha&oe=UTF-8&cid=473156214951735919&sa=title#p

Definitely a DSLR for serious photography and Point-n-Shoot camera for everything else.

Even the least expensive DSLR packs a punch which Point-n-Shoot will almost never achieve but the DSLR's punch comes with an added weight and size.
 
After using Nikon DSLR for past few years I dont carry around an extra weight and size of a DSLR for a typical 'not-so-serious' photography. Besides that it is pretty moronic to use crappy entry level slow lens on today's DSLRs which is like putting Formula 1 racing car engine on a Honda Civic body. The weight of 2 of my most commonly used lens (24-85mm and 80-200mm)  weighs almost 2 kilograms put together in addition DSLR weight (about 600 grams)+ dedicated Flash and four (sometimes eight )AA batteries (about 300 grams)+ add-on lens filters like Polarizers, UVs etc (about 100 grams). In all 3 and 1/2 kilograms of weight.

This one is from my Nikon DSLR (pic of a street performer shot in Toronto).
For more pics from my Nikon click here:
 http://www.flickr.com/photos/clairvoyant/show/