Best spriting program?

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for just ripping and arranging sprite sheets (seeing as that seems to be your intention), MSpaint is more than enough

I personally use PhotoFiltre (the free version) as it has this nice grid option which makes everything snap to a defined grid. My standard setting is 8x8px as most sprite graphics use multiples of these. It makes arranging sprites neatly really easy and comfortable.
It has some other downsides, though. However, sinde I'm also packed with GIMP, Photoshopz (legal copy B-) and others, that's alright.

For animations, GraphicsGale is said to be great as you can check your animated animations while animating. Haven't used it, though.