How is nikon d5100 as compared to other dslr, i'm thinking of buying it?

If not suggest me some dslr's.
i have the basis knowledge about photography.

It is an excellent camera, however the new D3200 sensor is about as good, for less money.

http://www.dxomark.com/...nd2)/Nikon

With the savings, you can buy a second lens or even a copy of Lightroom if you are a student and can buy it in your student store for under $100

I would recommend watching this review about the D5100.It should answer some of your questions.

The camera is far less important to image quality than the skill of the user so get the lowest camera that has the feature set you need… For example, if video is important get lowest entry level camera that has decent video controls.

You might want to look at the D3200 instead of the D5100… You can get the D3200 for 750$ instead of 940$ for the D5100 and the impact in image quality in the end will be practically non-existent. Put the 200$ you'll have saved aside and start saving for a shoe mount flash or better lens.