I am a professional photographer so my digital is more than just a point and shoot one. But, I also know what to look for in an digital camera.
For a 'regular' person, I highly recommend as much memory as you can afford (newegg.com IS the cheapest place!), batteries, batteries, batteries, and as much of an optical zoom as you can get within your budget. Be sure to have at least two battery chargers so you can put your batteries on charge each evening. You can usually find a set of 4 batters with a charger for under 20.00.
Digital zoom IS the same as cropping on your computer, so don't even pay attention to it. Get the most OPTICAL zoom.
Also, get one with a regular viewfinder...taking pictures using the display not only hogs up the batteries, but it's not stable -- meaning you're pictures may be blurred. Think about it -- you're holding the camera OUT, not with your arms resting on your body. You get camera shake that way.
Unless you're going to blow up your pictures more than 8x10, you do not need more than 2.1 megapixels -- more than that won't give you clearer 4x6, 5x7 pics -- it just enables you to do larger prints.
If you don't mind lugging around a largish camera, and can afford it, look into the Olympus 700 (the updated version of the C2100UZ) -- it has a 10X (380mm equiv) zoom! I have it and LOVE it! But, if you're looking for just a pocket, point and shoot type camera, the 700 (or the 2100uz) is a bit much. I've had two Olympus (had the 460 before the 2100) and they take great pictures.