To further muddy the waters I would suggest getting a scope if you're curious about magnification. And with a scope, I'd say that the lower mag powers... 20-35X, I find to be the most useful in practice. 25x compared to 7, 8, or 10 handheld is a significant, useful shift, allowing one to spot and ID critters that are small and far off in many situations. Common mag. limitations are the atmospheric disturbances to be found in the daytime, the darkening of the image once the exit pupil of the eyepiece shrinks below your own (you'll see this with zoom eyepieces), as well as the resolution of the scope itself. And with a scope, comes the issue of the stable support, the tripod. So, there's research to do on your part if you go down that road.
I would also recommend that you explore IS binoculars if you want handheld over 10x magnification. The difference between 8 and 10x is purely aesthetic in my opinion. I prefer 10 when feasible, but 8 is just fine as well.
Enjoy the journey.
-Bill