Best software for creating custom maps?

I was wondering if anyone here could point me in the right direction regarding software for creating geographic maps... I'm really hoping someone can help me out with some recommendations. Thanks in advance!

Arthur Ramirez20 said:I was wondering if anyone could point me toward some software for creating geographic maps... I'm really hoping someone can help me out here. Thanks!

That is a bit too broad, I suppose.

It really all depends on how complex your project is—as the detail increases, so does the complexity and, inevitably, the price tag of the software you'll need. For something relatively simple, you could probably just use any standard vector graphics program. However, if you're looking at more serious, high-level applications, you’re going to need actual GIS software—though that really depends on whether you want to build everything from scratch or if you're planning to work with existing data sets.

Google Maps
DEMIS World Map Server
Map generator