I'm still learning Linux myself, having come largely from a Solaris shop, but my take on it of late has generally been that pretty much all of the major distros except RedHat are pretty much equal for the basic webhosting/computationl/whatever stuff.
As such, my suggestion would be that you pick a distribution that some sysadmin you know is familiar with so that if you have to call them up and say, "Help? I'll swap you <bribe of choice> for some troubleshooting," the admin in question will already be familiar with your distribution.
:)
My personal flavor of choice is Debian, because I really, really like apt (the package distribution engine for Debian). Others will swear by other apps. The install is relatively quick and painless, and moderately customizable without too much effort. Other people will pick other versions.
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As such, my suggestion would be that you pick a distribution that some sysadmin you know is familiar with so that if you have to call them up and say, "Help? I'll swap you <bribe of choice> for some troubleshooting," the admin in question will already be familiar with your distribution.
:)
My personal flavor of choice is Debian, because I really, really like apt (the package distribution engine for Debian). Others will swear by other apps. The install is relatively quick and painless, and moderately customizable without too much effort. Other people will pick other versions.