Check out
http://www.imaging-resource.com/ for camera reviews. They are
very detailed and very thorough reviews. When you narrow it down to a few choices, use the "compare sample images" link on the home page to see the difference in images from one camera to another.
I don't know what your experience or budget is, but here is my reasoning on my recent purchase. This year I decided to get a better camera because we were going on a couple of trips. I am an above average but certainly not professional photographer. My budget would have allowed for a nice DSLR but I didn't want to pay for features I didn't need or wouldn't use. I decided to get what some call a near DSLR. (Fujifilm S9100
http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/S9100/S9100A.HTM). It has a 28-300 manual zoom lens and looks and behaves like a DSLR (with one or two minor exceptions).
Two of my friends have DSLRs. One is a Nikon D40. The other is a Canon but I don't know what model. We all went on a trip recently. When the trip was over and we had all taken hundreds of pictures each, the general consensus was that my camera was the favorite. It had a couple of advantages over the DSLRs. First, my lens had more range than either of my friends lenses had. They had to change lenses often. It was a pain in the butt and it caused them to miss some shots. Second, one of my friends got dust on the mirror or CCD in his camera when he was changing lenses. It now has to go back to be repaired and the shots he took with it after the dust problem were disappointing. This one problem screwed up about half of his photos. Since I don’t change lenses and open my camera up, dust is not a problem for me. Third, because my camera has more pixels than my friend’s cameras, when you blow up the pictures, the images from my camera are slightly better. However, in my opinion the difference is negligible. Fourth, my friends had to carry a spare lens and I didn't. Fifth my camera was the cheapest of the three.
Some will argue that the Nikon and Canon lenses are better, but as I mentioned before, to our non-professional eyes the images from mine were slightly better than the other two cameras. The biggest disadvantage my camera had was the shutter response. Mine is very quick for a digital camera but not instantaneous like the DSLRs. I missed a few action shots but in the long run very few of our pictures were action shots and for nearly all of the photos it did not matter. In the end the shutter delay was a small problem. Changing lenses all the time was a much bigger problem for my DSLR buddies. When the trip was over and we were trading pictures, it turns out that my near DSLR was the one that got the pictures we counted on. My friends missed shots because they were digging in their camera bag for the correct lens, or because they didn’t feel like changing lenses, they just decide to zoom in or out as far as the lens would allow and live with the results.
I’m happy with my purchase.
Sorry for the long response. I just didn't want you to over look an entire class of cameras that are nearly as capable as DSLRs but more reasonably priced.