What photoshop version?

Im thinking about buying a new computer and i have long since lost the discs for my... non-bought... version of photoshop.
It's also a pretty old version of the program (Adobe Photoshop CS3).
I was wondering what the people of the forums recommend when it comes to photoshop or other digital art applications?
Is there a "cant-go-wrong-with-this" option out there?

I could be wrong but I think you can "only" buy Photoshop Elements these days. It's more affordable than the big thing anyay, though - unless you don't mind paying month after month for whatever it is they call it - all Adobe's programs in a sort of subscription deal. Probably a good deal except personally I don't want to lose the program if I can't pay up one month.

I use ArtRage at the moment, which is rather different from PS but also much cheaper. And recently I downloaded Krita, which is free but I haven't yet learned to use it A couple of other options to consider. Oh, and I believe Painter has a 30 day trial if you're curious about that. (I think ArtRage has a trial too.)

Yep, I believe Charlotte is correct as to Photo Shop. Believe you can only get it via subscription now, unless you were to pick up an older version someone is willing to sell. ... Not sure on all the pricing, but believe one sub was around $9.99 a month for the basics and another option for something like $29.99 a month for everything. - I personally still use my CS4, which I have in both PC & Mac. Just never saw enough of an update to upgrade.

Along with Charlotte's suggestion to Artrage (which I also own) you might want to take a look at Manga Studio as well. Pretty nice program, and also not that expensive.

What do you think of corel? painter or paintshop pro??

I still use Corel Paint Shop pro. It's an old version too, X2.
Personally I can't afford the price of Photoshop but this is pretty close now I've learnt a lot about it.
The only thing I really miss are some decent textures (either DLC or the plethora of textures everyone is adding to their basic software these days) but for now and my skill level I'm pretty happy with it.
I've never used 3d software for anything other than basic interiors (accurate perspective and all that) when I worked freelance for architectural companies.

Affinity Photo is highly regarded as a good alternative to Photoshop but more on the image editing side. Clip Studio, Artrage or Sketchbook Pro are very good (cheaper) alternatives to Photoshop as a paint app. It's relatively easy to use both together.

I used Paintshop Pro for the first year or two when I started out digital, and then tried Photoshop. But to be honest, I didn't really mind it, I just found PS to be a but more powerful in most areas. But I always found them to be quite close in build/makeup. - My son still uses it, though he hasn't been doing much artwork lately.

I also have ArtRage Pro, Manga Studio and PaintStorm Studio. Though I do tend to use PS CC mostly nowadays.

Whenever this question pops up I feel obliged to offer my +1 for ArtRage.
Cheaper than a lot of stuff and lots of lovely texture and smeary colour mixing, even if it does occasionally generate some weird purples and yellows when you least expect it. Although I do sometimes look enviously at Rebelle and those drippy watercolour effects. :sigh:

I don't use photoshop because they charge a monthly fee, like digital dave says i don't want to lose it if I go a month without paying for it, that why I stick with paintshop pro x9