[a little bit late on this thread...]
Red Hat is okay as a server distro but they just
don't seem to understand the
desktop and unless you're a power user who knows enough to install apt-rpm,
you're stuck in dependency hell.
Hmmm, maybe not yet for "absolute beginners" but you don't need to be a
"power user" either. Surf to:
http://www-ccrma.stanford.edu/planetccrma/software/
Follow the directions and get apt installed (no dependency hell), a
lowlat kernel, alsa and a bunch of audio/video apps.
-- Fernando