General :: Recommendation For Setup?

I have been contemplating switching to Linux for some time now, frankly because I'm tired of the blue screens and viruses, the slow speeds, low customization, new versions of programs coming out after years of waiting, high costs/no sharing. As for Apple, I'm not a fan of Steve Jobs going from share-ware to locked down apps and frankly I despise the whole Apple company for that and its high prices. my first HP ever crashed so coming in is a new Dell with details to follow on it - this particular Dell doesn't fit with my habit of getting everything thats the newest thing out, but its close enough to what I had and was a "fast track" item, meaning built and ready to ship. Also, always owned Dells in the past with no problems.

I use my computer for movies, music, internet, e-mail, the occasional spreadsheet and word document as well as games that perk my interest every once in a while. I heard Ubuntu would be good, with Wine to be able to run the occasional Windows based program correctly. I was looking at a dual setup which I would switch to a single set-up if I became extremely comfortable with Linux.