If you are moving from a Point and Shoot to a DSLR, you may also want to take a look at micro four/thirds or mirrorless cameras. They are similar to typical DSLRs but do not have the mirror box, therefore they are a bit smaller.
Sony and Panasonic are the two primary companies that make them (however Canon just released their own version recently). It's a half step between a full DSLR and a Point and Shoot. You get the improved image quality from a larger sensor, but have a reduced size which makes them a little easier to use. My friend has a Sony NEX5 and its a pretty neat little camera that handles pretty well.
I've been using DSLRs for 8+ years, and friends typically ask me about cameras, and what DSLR they should get. What I've noticed is 50% of the people think that if they buy a DSLR, their images will instantly get better because they spent more on their camera which is not true. this 50% also find that it's not worth lugging their big camera around, and end up not really using it as much as they thought they would have... These people probably would have been a little better off if they bought a smaller mirrorless/micro fourthirds camera. The other half of the people get into cameras, and don't mind carrying around a camera bag everywhere they go (i fall into this category, and typically lug my 5D3, flash, and typical 2-3 lenses with me on vacation all th time).
Anyways, as other's have suggested, go down to best buy and handle the cameras... bring a SD card with you, sometimes you can stick them in and take a few pictures and see how the pictures come out. try to autofocus on things, test how long it takes between pressing the shutter release and how long it takes to take the picture... ask if you can try putting on the other lenses (most entry level kits will come with a 18-55 and a 55-200 or 70-300 lens). see how big the camera is, etc.
Good luck!