Dawhitestig

It's very personal preference.  Best way to tell is pick up a Canon and play around with the settings (aperture, shutter speed, iso etc), then pick up a Nikon and play around with the same feature.  The one you spend less time to master it is the one you'd want to get.

Another big factor is what your friends have; you'll have more common topics (other than arguing which one is better), and you can borrow lenses from you friends. :)