2D game graphics programming

I know some C++ and Java, but I've only ever done text stuff with them. Which language, and what libraries, would you recommend for making 2D game?

With sprites and collision detection, basic physics for side-scroller type action.

In my first experience using SDL, I failed to use it for a simple project. I believe I got problems with mouse handling (out of window + mouse key up or something, can't remember for sure), problems you'd expect when using non-professional solutions, it appeared just another random FOSS project, so I switched to OpenGL which fixed any limitations I experienced with SDL. It just left me wondering why people through decades recommends SDL? For 'what' I ask, because programming using OpenGL/AL is just as simple. Really, it is very simple.

Later on I got to write a wave propagation simulator, using that produced perfect (analytic) wave functions in the time domain, supporting arbitrary amounts of waves and interferences, using OpenGL but it wasn't like OpenGL had anything to do with it really, it's just a stupid API to put doodles on the screen, same as SDL. What you really need is either:

A. A shit load of time to implement the mathematics to handle what ever you want to do, collision detection etc, what ever it might be.
B. A proprietary engine that solves 99% of your problems.