I recommend Ubuntu. The 'right' linux distributions is a balance between customization and getting things done. I used to run slackware, then gentoo, and then

I recommend Ubuntu. The 'right' linux distributions is a balance between customization and getting things done. I used to run slackware, then gentoo, and then finally arch. I learned a ton, but now I'm focused on building great software and I don't want to spend the time emerge -DuNav world, or dealing with packages in the AUR, or even building the software myself. Short of a few kernel bugs :(graphics drivers), Ubuntu has gotten out of my way and let me build things. Of course, this comes at a price, I no longer concern myself with customizing the entire OS to fit my needs, I just modified the way I work to fit well with vanilla Ubuntu and got on with it. Coming back to your comment about being sick of Windows and OS X. I would caution you that the grass is not always greener. I used to have this problem where I would switch operating systems completely every 1-2 years and I bounced around from Slackware, to Gentoo, to Arch, to OS X, to Ubuntu, to Windows 7, back to Ubuntu. They all suck, you just want to find the one that sucks the least for what you are trying to do, and Linux might not be the right choice.