@ladoga

Well put. Also I agree strongly with the observation about the increased obfuscation under the hood of the more "user friendly" distros. Your stage 1 story created a smile of recognition. I smiled less back then, though... Memories sweeten the experience.

@OP

Simply put;
1. For the curious and eager beginner, I'd say Gentoo, Arch or LFS,

Pros: Steep learning curve, maximum reward in terms of confidence.
Cons: Time. Because there's always too little.

2. For the less curious, try Ubuntu, Debian or Mint.

Pros: Setup in 7 or 8 simple questions. Lots of users worldwide so lots and lots of (community) help online.
Cons. Hardly teaches you anything. Quick learning curve because the technical difficulty level is, well, limited. As are the possibilities.