They all have their strengths and weaknesses. I own a Wii and a 360, and my favourite timewaster is... my DS.
I cannot tell you what to buy. Look through the three systems' libraries, pick out games yu might like, spend some time watching youtube vids and playing the respective games and systems at shops or leech off playtime from rich/stupid friends.
Me? I'm a Wii guy.
The system has horrible design issues (being forced to clean the fridge for more than 4 months now is somewhat degrading), it's ridiculously underpowered (lol 3MB shared render+Z buffer and texture cache), Nintendo would gleefully strangle their customers in their own intestines if it made them money, but despite all that there's a certain kaind of experience to be had that no other hardware can provide. It's the go-to console for social gaming, aka local multiplayer. 3rd party support on Wii is still atrocious, so if you're the carefree "let's just buy it without reading reviews" type you'll be in for a world of hurt. 3rd party games on Wii are a hit-and-miss affair. Western devs in particular seem outright hostile to this little box, with very few exceptions.
That being said, there are lots of gems in that pool of feces. Boom Blox and de Blob are simply awesome, for example, and they're from western devs. The Wiimote pointer + Nunchuck combo is the closest thing to keyboard & mouse controls you'll get this gen, aside from an actual Kb&M setup. So awesome when a dev nails it. So frustrating when they don't.
If I really have to describe it in last-gen terms: It's a PS2, with a vastly smaller game library. While this is slowly changing, and while asian and smaller western devs seem to slowly warm up to it, the fact remains that many devs are consciously avoiding it.
Again, make no mistake: Nintendo wants your money. All of it. If they can get away with robbing you blind they will, and they won't even bother to be diplomatic about it. It's kinda like Apple, in a certain way. Sony and MS try to go after your wallet in a much more subtle way.
The HD consoles... well. I'm kinda nonplussed about them. They're good fun and all that, I bought a 360 for rez HD and enjoy it immensely, but...
If you want graphics, get a good PC. Many games n HD consoles are rendered in sub HD resolutions internally, then scaled up. Halo 3, Metal Gear Solid 4, CoD 4, nearly all the big names are "fake HD", sometimes even at an unsteady 30fps. This is simply unacceptable for any upstanding graphics whore.
PS3 seem to have moderate problems with their Bluray lasers, and 360 suffer from hellishly loud drives and (on comparatively rare occasions nowadays) the dreaded RROD. They've gotten much better, but to be quite honest I expect a bit more from a 250+€ piece of equipment.
Don't let me get you down though, if you like 3D graphics those systems are awesome. The 360 with its recent price drop offers considerable bang for your buck, and the PS3 is probably the most future proof discrete Bluray player on this planet. Both have a solid, if not spectacular (sorry, injoke) game library, mainly from western devs, and a surprising amount of multiplatform titles. They also offer a rich digital download shopping experience.
Seeing as this is a PC centric site tough I cannot seriously recommend either of them. A PC, while without a doubt more expensive if you don't already have a sort-of-new one, will almost always beat the everloving daylights out of the console games in terms of achievable graphics. Unless you really need to play the handful of console exclusive titles you're much better off with investing in some upgrades.
If you're going by sales, I'd say buy Nintendo. Wii has sold about on par with its competition taken together, and it doesn't look like it's gonna slow down any time soon. It's a freaking monster, and if it'll follow the DS model the games will come sooner or later. Keyword "if". You decide.
Now get out there and try the systems out. Nothing I could ever type on this board would give you the same kind of feedback. Look at the games. Look at the controllers. Ask your friends what they own.