I was torn between the Nikon and Olympus; I ended up with an Olympus Evolt and I couldn't be happier.

I borrowed an older model Rebel from a friend; it was ok but I prefered the other two brands. One good thing about the Rebel is that the lenses are interchangeable (lenses for the film cameas will work with the digital cameras) so you could hit the swap/pawn shops, garage sales, etc and pick up cheaper lenses.

Both are good cameras but of the two brands my personal preference would be the Nikon.