I'd have to second this notion, though I went the "Arch Way". But as discussed on multiple occasions, your preferred linux distro is mostly a matter of personal preference.

Mint 10/Ubuntu 10.10/OpenSUSE are probably the easiest to dabble with in terms of installation and daily use, but as mentioned earlier, they really don't "teach" you anything. You end up with a Windows-like environment with no idea what goes on inside the box. Gentoo and Arch Linux might seem intimidating at first (took me 4 times before I got Arch installed the correct way on to my Alienware latpop), however, after the multiple missteps, wiki/google searches and so on, you will come out much more linux-savvy.

So, on one extreme you have the ready-out-of-the-box, yet somewhat "bloated", Ubuntu/OpenSUSE line-up, and on the other end, the slim Gentoo/Arch with total user control with your choice of window manager(s), desktop enivronment(s) etc. Not to say you can't trim down on Ubuntu or SUSE, just that Gentoo and Arch allow you to customize about everything you can imagine about your OS right from the get-go.

Either way you decide to go about it, Linux will change your PC/laptop experience for the positive, guaranteed!

EDIT: good run-down on what's going on the world of linux distros, check out www.distrowatch.com