I am terrible at drawing, can’t sculpt, and who’s 3d modeling experience is following some step-by-step instructions on blender to make a terrible gingerbread man over a few hours. Can I make anything like what I see in the galleries or will I pay for ZBrush, suck and quit after getting discouraged?
Whoa:ex: Sounds to me like you pretty much answered your own question. 
Zbrush is a fantastic tool but it has a VERY steep learning curve.
I would recommend some one with little experience of 3D to try a traditional 3D package first.
What program would you recommend?
You have to remember that ZBrush, like any other software, is only a tool. The talent isn’t in the software, it’s in the artist. You could know everything there is to know about ZBrush and know its workings inside out and still produce crap. So saying that, “Can I make anything like what I see in the galleries” isn’t something that anybody here can answer for you. Only you can answer that question. A lot of the stuff you see in the ZBrush gallery is produced by extremely talented people using a tool that allows them to express that talent. ZBrush is awesome software which can allow you to make some really incredible stuff.
Having said that, you could also fall into the category of “I do it just for the enjoyment of doing it” . If you like to create just for the joy of creating and don’t care how good or bad it is then you will really like ZBrush. Sure, like StephF said, it does have a steep learning curve, but it’s also a lot of fun to use. I’m not very good at it, but I still get a lot of enjoyment out of using it. In that respect, to me, it’s worth every penny that I paid for it.
I have to go with every thing Zber says. But from personal first experiences I was banging my head against the wall in the beginning until I started to warm to Zbrush.
Something like Blender, which is free, might give you a leg up to start with.
My advice is forget all the awesome things other people are making. Take baby steps and eventually you will get better and better. 
Just looking at the cool stuff others can do will only make you feel bad. You will get there eventually.
you can do it like they says but its all up to you, up to how much you love it and how many hours and days and some times years you are willing to spend learning and advancing not just in sculpting digitally but you should look every where. you have to learn some drawing skills and anatomy and proportions but you cant do it all at once. just do it step by step and if ypu can go to zbrush classes it will help also.
check gnomon DVD’s there is a lot you can lean from and check zbrushworkshops.com its really a good place to start.