, which linux you would prefer ? the goal is to run pd/gridflow (oh how wonderfull it could be) etc. and to learn about linux ? debian, mandrake, suse, red hat and i heard about a special multimedie linux, but forgot its name. tell me ...
i recommend planetCCRMA on top of redhat 9 highly. they have good, detailed installation instructions on their site and are very responsive on their mailing list:
http://ccrma-www.stanford.edu/planetccrma/software/