Questionmark,
The best camera out there according to most pro's is the Hasselblad H3D that has a 39 Megapixel sensor and costs a cool $29,000 dollars.
In "35 mm" format the best camera available is the Canon 1Ds MkII that has a 16.7 Megapixel sensor and costs a mere $7,000 dollars. But don't despair, it's 22 Megapixel replacement is in the horizon and should be released this summer.
The fastest photographic camera is the Canon 1D MkIII that was released last week. It's only $4,000 dollars and can shoot 10 megapixel shots at a rate of 10 per second.
Since you're looking at something more affordable I would suggest that you take a serious look at these three cameras:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home;jsessionid=FlGbqMvw0z!-1880342331!1172636891553?ci=1&sb=ps&pn=1&sq=desc&InitialSearch=yes&O=RootPage.jsp&A=search&Q=*&bhs=t&shs=psjan07061
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home;jsessionid=FlGbqMvw0z!-1880342331!1172636891553?ci=1&sb=ps&pn=1&sq=desc&InitialSearch=yes&O=RootPage.jsp&A=search&Q=*&bhs=t&shs=psjan07059
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?ci=1&sb=ps&pn=1&sq=desc&InitialSearch=yes&O=product.jsp&A=search&Q=*&bhs=t&shs=psjan07058
By the way, those links are to prices available only to "pro" photographers from a pretty serious and reputable store in NY.
Take care!
Ignacio