Hi muppet,
Welcome to the Q&A Forum!
In some cases, it may be wiser to buy a card made by the camera manufacturer, or at least the xD picture card packaging should state that it is compatible with your model camera.
Each person who responds will have a different opinion about which memory card is "best." However, if you really like a camera, I think consideration of the card should be secondary, all other things being equal.
Personally, I prefer SD cards as I think they are winning the memory card race for digital cameras. The majority of digital cameras today use SD and I think the trend will stay the same for the foreseeable future.
If the digital camera you like uses xD picture cards and speed is important to you, make sure the digital camera uses Type H cards, which have higher data rates than Type M cards. Also make sure any card reader you get is compatible with the card.
To be honest, we've had more complaints about xD picture cards than any other memory card. Saying that, there people who use xD picture cards without problems.
Remember also to make sure an xD picture card used with an older camera is compatible with a newer one.
Related reading: Causes of memory card corruption
http://www.digicamhelp.com/accessories/memory-cards/memory-card-corruption.php
