Mysql works fine, Mysql is *extremely* fast - faster then the PHP rendering machine ( Zend) for example, so it gives some funny side-effects when calling insisting mysql database queries through PHP on the command line.
Unfortunately, there is no reliable GUI for administering MySQL, there's MySQLadmin but it is not like Access, really not.
PHPMyAdmin may look like it but do not install that as definitive *production release* GUI administration tool, you as k for trouble, much trouble.
One downside of MySql is that for some datatypes, records, well it accepts anything, just anything. It is Free Software so, it is quite gullible.
You'll have to do the security customisation yourself and/or deal with Mysql's 'fluffiness' when it deals with proper record sets.
For example, the VACHAR and the MEDIUMTEXT datatypes look very different but both will store whatever you want, which makes it difficult to retrieve data when you base your criteria and sorting on the field-types themselves. Yet then , you will barely have to reccur to that method, most DBAdministrators opt for the ultimate unique ID

(but this is common to all DBA-engines )