Thanks all for your thoughts. It's a bit of a difficult choice for me. On the software side, I lean towards Windows. The primary software I use includes BIAB (better on PC -- but I am not a power user), Quicken (better on PC), Microsoft Word and Excel (I own the Office 2007 software, but I understand the Mac version works well too, and you can now use both on the web for free from a PC or Mac), music transcription software (equal on both platforms -- I own the PC version but not expensive to upgrade) and iTunes (better on Mac). I am not wed to any particular DAW software, so garage band may be something nice to try out. I will also be using some photo editing software, but again I am not wed to any particular package, so either platform is fine. Other things I use are available in both platforms and most are free.

On the OS side, I am leaning toward the Mac. The consensus in terms of the OS seems to be that that they are both good but most people report that they have far fewer glitches with the Mac OS and software (why is putting the computer in sleep mode such a hit and miss thing with Windows?).

I'm sure that either platform wil work fine for me. It also seems pretty clear that a PC will wind up costing a good bit less (mostly because I am looking at a 27" iMac and if I bought a PC I would be able to get a similar configuration with a much less expensive and somewhat smaller monitor. If I bought a PC with a similar monitor and configuration the price wouldn't be too far off as a comparable 27" Dell monitor would run about $1100).

The bottom line seems to be that a PC will allow me more choice in terms of hardware and I wouldn't have to replace licenses for any software. Windows is also what I use at work and we have another Windows machine (XP) in the house. A Mac may run more problem free and people seem to actually like using them.

So, there clearly is no right or wrong answer here and it seems to come down to whether I want to try something new and am willing to spend the money and take a chance.