i am new to the design community and have a general, but important question:
i am embarking on learning graphic design software on my new imac and need direction on what 2 applications, as a newbie, should i get and learn first?
What sort of design are you looking to get into?
"Graphic Design" is a very, very broad spectrum of design work that includes things like:
print work, advertising, web design, illustration, interactive media, broadcast/video, etc...etc...etc.
Different areas of Graphic Design would require different software skill sets.
The first thing you should do is decide which direction you would like to go in, then figure out what design skills are needed for the path you choose.
Then you can figure out what software would be beneficial for you.
And it will likely be more than just two software titles.
If you are still unsure on what you would like to do, I would recommend getting the Adobe Creative Suite.
Adobe's software is pretty much the industry standard for almost any design type, and it would offer you the most variety of software.