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OK, you are quite welcome. In a nutshell, just download some live distros and play with them first. Do NOT load any OS until you have had a chance to try it from a live disk to see if it will work for you, that way your current familiar desktop will still be there for you to fall back on until something comes along you can use.

The three I mentioned are the ones I know are most newbie-friendly, although even that varies somewhat. I stayed away from other distros as I do not have all that much experience with them, however as they have been around for some time they must be doing SOMETHING right. For instance, I first started out in Linux using the Ret Hat OS, then some BSD -which landed Me a job in a Solaris shop, then switched over to Slackware and then Red Hat Linux on Sparc. All that within a three-year period.

Just play with a few. I am sure you will find something suitable within a short period of time. Just remember: NO INSTALLS! Play with the live CD first. Or live DVD...