/r/ Linux info

I'm looking at getting away from Microsoft OS's, and trying one of the open source OS's.

My question is, "Which one"? I've seen many versions on the shelves, but I don't know which is better for the first time user.
So instead of browsing the magic google, I decided to try here.

Is there an OS/distro with a newbie-level guide that provides a step-by-step way of learning how to get around Unix?

What I have always disliked is that even when I figure out how to, say, patch OpenBSD and build the kernel and restart sshd, I can't figure out how to apply it to any other situation. It seems as if the rules are always changing like with English grammar.

I've heard Slackware is a good newbie-to-advanced distro, but does it have a good comprehensive guide for newbies outside of the near-useless man pages?