Captivate Upgrade

My Contract runs out this month & I'm looking at the Captivate as a replacement, but a one thing bothers me. AT&T Bloatware / Mods. Is it possible to Re flash the hardware to the Default Firmware to allow full access to both the phone & Android Apps on either the Android Apps store or anywhere on the web ? I know I can use some slide loading hacks to get my own software installed, but I'd like to know if I can do the equivalent of a clean install of the OS (I do this when I get HP or DELL systems also to remove their custom bloatware)