I think the only noob friendly way is Slackware (+ a big Linux book).
I have a "LINUX" book that's got 2 CD's in the back with that Slackware stuff on thems. It's a few years old, though. I picked it up somewhere used but never used it. I didn't even know there was more than one CD in there until just recently when I was taking pictures of stuff for to sell away.
