If you’re overwhelmed by the options, I suggest trying each program as they all have different things to offer and many of them are free or inexpensive. I switch between programs myself depending on what I’m doing: Photoshop for general static pixeling since I’m comfortable with the program, Pyxel Edit for tiles because it has tools that make creating tilesets easy, GraphicsGale or Aseprite for animation.
I won’t go through all the options since the thread eishiya linked already did, but ultimately, programs are just tools and there’s not really a “one size fits all” solution; just use whichever program you feel comfortable working in that has the tools you require.