Linux Mint

If a user-friendly Gnome distro is what you're after, go for the latest Linux Mint Gnome-edition namely "Elyssa": "http://www.linuxmint.com/rel_elyssa.php".

For installing some useful applications, read the following: "http://www.howtoforge.com/the-perfect-desktop-linux-mint-5-elyssa-r1-p5".