Give Knoppix a try. Boot the CD, try its Debian to get a feel for
how it works. If you like it, install its Debian to a partition
on your hard drive. Then, you can use Knoppix to install additional
Debian packages.
The installation process for the regular Debian has a lot
of traps that may discourage a beginner----Knoppix installation
is much easier and it IS Debian.
alex