Use the MPLAB (it's free), but not ver 6xx if you use Redmond Bloatware's XPletive OS, unless you have a way to unzip a .exe file in a compatibility box that prevents 6xx from thinking it is in Windows NT - it says to itself "I gotta supply drivers", and if you have a COM-Port-less laptop, the installation seems to shunt existing drivers (including USB-COM-Port drivers) aside.
When my interest was peaked, I made a PIC 16C84 programmer, as found on the Net, hoping to find some way to drive it. Before I could, I bought a PICStart at a fraction of what it's worth now. I could have used the DOS-based assembler with a word processor, and the driver program from the net that was posted with the programmer.
Ver 5.2x (still available at
www.microchip.com) works fine with the PICStart on my laptop, but it can't program the very latest Flash chips from Microchip, such as the one with 8 adc's and several 8 bit ports, and Flash memory - no more erasing windowed EPROMS.
I did manage to use 5.xx to program a 16F84A, which is a good generally useful chip to start out on, Since all of the PIC's use the same instruction set (at the assembler level, anyway), learning one is the key to all.
C programmers for PICs are available if you want to avoid assembly or machine.- see the third party suppliers on the Microchip site.
Another more expensive avenue might be to get a demo board with a 68HC11 and some memory.... and an LCD panel .... You can program that with one of several available C compilers, or in assembly, and it is faster than the ordinary PICs, with more memory.
Good luck.