Monitor buying advice needed

[PoorOldSpike]

Okay I browsed the computer shop yesterday looking at monitors but came away more confused than ever!
Two were on display showing the same picture, one mon was 'widescreen' and the other was 'standard'.
The widescreen pic looked squashed top to bottom and stretched left to right in a long rectangle shape, but the standard mon's pic looked square and much more realistic.
So if I bought a widescreen, would CM and flight sims etc all look unnaturally squashed and stretched? I don't think I'd like that.
Why don't I just buy a standard mon instead which gives a normal-looking squarish pic?
What good are widescreens anyway if they squash and stretch the pic??
I asked the kid in the shop but he just gave me a lot of gobbledegook about resolution and stuff which went over my head.
PS -I think his attitude was the same as most other shops -"Just trust us, we know what's best for you"
Yeah sure..;)