I would also like to apologize in advance if I break a rule in this post. I read the rules but I'm a bit of an air-head some times

My question is regarding finding good, cheaper video software. I'm a video making noob so I don't know much about the different softwares. all I know is that I can't afford Sony vegas or particle illusion right now

I did a little research and found a website that had a top ten review thingy and I looked briefly at things like Movie Edit Pro, Power Director, pinnacle studio, corel video studio, showbiz dvd, and roxio creator. [sorry about the long list xp]
I didn't learn that much about them. any info would be great. I want software under $200 but still decent with a wide range of effects.