How do I choose the camera I want? What traits should I pay attention to? Details please...?

I thought that the higher are megapixels, the higher is the quality of a picture. Wrong. I tried a 10 megapixel camera from Canon (digital elph) and the pics come out really grainy. Not that the camera is bad, but it's not what I am looking for. What I would like to know is what sort of camera I should look for if I'm looking for a good quality in nature pics, mountains, forests, ocean, etc. Nature in one word. And also how can I make sure that zoomed in images will look good, clear (not obscure), as if it's not taken from too far away.
Now, I know very little about cameras. I would really appreciate if you give me the exact parameters I need to look for, from what range to what range, what sort of lens, what brand, how many megapixels... Details please. And if you know the price ranges, it would also help a lot.
Also, what should I look for the images taken at dusk and dawn, w/t a lot of light.
I appreciate whatever info I can get.

Thank you all for the good info, especially a user by name 'R M' . (and btw I never mentioned that the pics print grainy; overall images appear grainy on the screen, no matter what mode I use)
I started looking for the camera according to things listed by 'R M', and I think my head is about to explode. The more you learn, the more questions come out on the way.
So, is '18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED AF-S DX Lens' considered a good lens? and overall is 'Nikon D80 Kit W / AF-S DX Zoom Nikkor' considered a good camera? I found one for $ 979.
Thanks again

There are three key things you should look for:

1) Speed. The faster the response when you press the shutter button, the better you'll be able to capture those special moments. This is known as shutter lag. You want a very small shutter lag. The best is around 0.1 second. The worst is around 2 seconds.

2) Noise. In low light conditions, a camera with "noisy" electronics will produce images with lots of speckles. This is similar to "graininess" found on film cameras. You want a camera with very low noise, especially at ISO settings of 400 or more. This will result in nice clean shots in low light conditions.

3) Image sharpness. A crisp image will be the combination of a good lens and image sensor.

The only way to get the best of all three features is to go with a DSLR style camera, such as the Nikon D40. The downside to DSLR cameras is that they are large and heavier that something like a pocket side digital elph.

You can always go with www.cnet.com
they provide reviews for different cameras and they have videos too.

all i can say is make sure you get one with a fast shutter cause if they close too slow you always miss your good picture.

If your pictures are printing out grainy it's NOT your Camera.
Maybe a class in Digital Photography would help!

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I vote for VR's advise. But let me add one suggestion. I shoot at a high ISO because my situation (indoors NBA & WNBA ) doesn't allow flash usage. To bring the pictures down from the gloom of graininess, I use Noiseware, a great program that refines the image and reduces the noise to an amazing level.

You can try the freeware version here. I subscribed to the full version after a short time, because I was so impressed. There are other choices that will also help to reduce grain and noise. Look here for some great photo editing software.
http://www.download.com/Digital-Photogra...