If you find Ubuntu to be too bloated, try Xubuntu. It uses a lighter desktop environment but is still as functional as Ubuntu. Xubuntu is my distro of choice. I’d recommend Xubuntu 8.04 over Xubuntu 8.10 because not only is 8.04 supported for 36 months while 8.10 is supported for 18 months, but 8.10 is sluggish compared to 8.04. 8.04 is pretty fast on this nearly 4 year old laptop.
Do you know of a good winamp equivalent for xubuntu?