I'm can't recommend gentoo to anyone anymore...the portage system is ok, but there are too many people who recommend it solely on the e-penis enlargement you'd alledgedly get from installing it. Everything takes too long to compile (even in 64-bit on my a64) and it's simply not worth the lack of convenience for a 3% boost in performance. Vidalinux will spare you the 3 hours it takes to install, but you'll still need to compile packages eventually. Not to mention the fact that being on the cutting edge of software means not only that you get the newest features, but you get the newest bugs. There's a reason why Debian and Ubuntu are still using the 2.4 kernel. The entire gentoo community is based on e-penis and a small boost in performance, nothing more.

I consider the apt system from Debian the best package management system. Ubuntu uses the same system, but the Ubuntu team actually updates the packages and fixes bugs. That's why Ubuntu gets my vote.