I would suggest SUSE linux.It is perfect for linux starters,but it is a complete distro( 650Mb).
If you realy need smaller one,i would say Vector Linux.
It is based on Slackware Linux,that prefers most configuration by hand,but it has fast install(about 20 minutes total) so if you smeg up smething ...
And it has good forum suport .
More suggestions:
goblinx -live cd based on (guess what) Slack ,350 MB
slax - Nice looking live distro based on S. as above but 180Mb