From what I've been told, the latest version of Gentoo installs much more easily than when I did it. I updated mine, so I don't know the specifics in a fresh install. Either way, it's fun to tinker with....or at least I think so. I also like the commnets I get from people who see and use it at my house. The general consensus among Windows users is that a working, configured Gentoo box is pretty cool, and quite different than anything they're used to seeing.
Tinker with what. What types of 'configurations' are you changing?