Need help with scripting language

I dont know which of three sections were appropriate to place this in.

I have an avatar gallery that is now getting too big and I want to break it up into pages.

I dont wont to use tables(HTML), and I used PHP but thats just..well tables. Basically I want a format like this: DayDream Graphics: Web Design & Programming Community

but without download/member tabs.

What language I need to use to pull that off?

this is my PHP code

<?php
$a = '0';
$filepath = "images/avatars/80";
$dir = dir($filepath);


echo "<table border=\"1\" cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" width=\"35%\">";
while($entry=$dir->read()) {
    if($entry == "." || $entry == "..") {
        continue;
    }
    $fp = @fopen("$filepath/$entry","r");

if ($a == '0') {echo "<tr>";}
if ($a == '09') {echo "<tr>";}
if ($a == '18') {echo "<tr>";}
if ($a == '27') {echo "<tr>";}
if ($a == '36') {echo "<tr>";}
if ($a == '45') {echo "<tr>";}
if ($a == '54') {echo "<tr>";}
?><td>
  <img src="<? echo "$filepath/$entry" ?>" alt="<? echo $entry ?>"></a>
  </td>
<?
$a = $a + 1;
}

?>

I do have a MySQL database..

Jam it back in, in the dark.

That locked up the page..or maybe I placed it in wrong. I need to relearn all my stuff(HTML/CSS/PHP/MySQL) all over again.

I'm in hell.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

It's all good. I can use PHP to "talk to" MySQL and create an avatar database..so that I can upload my avatars, and when a certain amount of rows per page is reached, it'll go into a new page. Instead of people looking at one big ass page of avatars.

I just wanted to know what I had to learn and apparently it's how to use MySQL.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.