I was wondering if you could help?

[Chris Gordon]

Hi,
My names Chris Gordon and I'm a junior web developer / designer. 
I know that you're probably very busy but I was wondering if you 
might be able to give me some advice? 
 
For the past two weeks I've been investigating the topic of keyword 
research. I'm looking into trying out a couple of PPC campaigns and 
I'm trying to find out as much as I can before I invest. 
In other words - I want to get it right - first time!  
As I've been plowing through the tones of information on the net, 
I've come across a number of amazingly useful websites, articles, 
forum post etc. And when ever I've spotted the authors contact 
details, I've made a note of it. This is how I found you! 
I'm trying to find out which keyword tools are regarded as the best 
in the industry? I've found many software solutions, and I'm 
struggling to make a decision as to which one is best. Is it really 
worth paying a large sum of money for software? Or are there free 
solutions available that can give similar results? 3 days ago I 
found a piece of software called 'PPC Web Spy' by a guy called Brad 
Callen. Have you seen or used this program? I've started playing 
round with it for the past couple of days and it appears to be really 
quite innovative. But is it really any good??
Could you possibly let me know what your thoughts are on this 
product?... (http://www.thePPCspy.com). I want to know if this is 
really as powerful as they claim it is? Is the information it 
provides accurate?
The software is free of charge, so I'm having difficulty understanding 
how it could be any good!? I Googled 'Brad Callens' name and it 
appears that he has a very good reputation in this field. I'm so 
very confused!!
Can you tell me if you've had any success with this or other similar 
products? 
I'm sorry for taking up your time like this! But I truly hope you can 
help. May I thank you in advance for any help that you're able to 
provide. 
Have a great day and I'll hopefully speak to you soon,
Kind Regards,

Chris Gordon