For info on Linux and Linux software, the LDP is a great place to start. To avoid congestion, and speed up your connection, try one of the LDP mirror sites . The Linux HOW-TO's are an excellent starting point for setting up your system.
Several companies distribute the operating system packaged with distribution specific extras.
Red Hat - Probably the most popular and user friendly distribution. My current personal favorite. Mandrake is based on Red Hat. Slackware - Another of my personal favorites. Debian - Another distribution with a nice package manager.