which version of linux is the best

its really not quite as simple as that.there are,like you say, a lot of distros out there, and a lot of then are very good.ut's very difficult to say which is "best" since that depends quite a lot on what you want out a distro and what your level of experience is. the non-commercial distros, such as slackware and debian tend to be more popular with longtime linux users,because they make it easiest for knowledgeable users to retain complete control over the entire system.but these packages provide the least in terms of handholding during installation and administration,so there is a clear trade off. redhat is great for mostly everything and s certainly the most well-rounded distro. for servers, suse and redhat both are excellent products. for the beginners especially those new to linux,linspire is best as it tends to do the best job with ease-of-use and supporting those features most important to desktop/laptop users.ubuntu is also good as it contains all the applications you need. for experienced linux users,developers and geeks, mandriva is a great choice. and so choose the one that best suits you.i hope it will help you, though not completely but at least to some extent.best of luck.

Linux is always about choices. There are many distros around and choosing one is always a pain especially for newbies. Some may recommend ubuntu, some fedora, some opensuse (I am an opensuse fan) and leave us confused. So my recommendation. Try a distro for few days and then try another one for another few days. Try at least 4 distros and see which one suites your requirement. First I started with Red Hat 9 and then got a mandrake CD (now mandriva). Tried that. Felt better than Red Hat. Then soon came to know about Suse Linux from some magazines. Got hold of a copy of Suse Linux 9.1. Tried that and found it to be one of the best distro. Later came the Ubuntu Linux and got one copy through shipit. But I didn't like it and I dint feel anything was better in Ubundu when compared to suse. So switched back to suse linux. Now I am running opensuse 10.2 Distro and to me it is the best linux ever released. But I am not recommending anyone to use opensuse. It is upto their choice. As I said earlier try different distros and stick on to the one which you feel will suit your need.

For me the best is ubuntu... this distro is supported by a big community of developers.. and in the project forum you can have all help that you need

Ubuntu is pretty cool. If you have questions just ask their forum, they'll come up with an answer for you.

To be honest, I have not used any Linux OS's before. I have a friend, however, that is recommending that I should purchase an Ubuntu computer. I am assuming that Ubuntu would be the best, judging by various reviews published all around the internet.

Go man, its Ubuntu. i've been using it for some time now and i think its the best. check it out

so far ubuntu (feisty fawn) is the best for me. New Ubuntu's look and feel is very cool. and once you started to dig into it, you will find it more cooler than windows too.