I am still a Linux novice but like learning new things.
Welcome
I am thinking of downloading all the ISO files for Debian.
The install process is very easy and the one ISO will cover most of the tools to run fairly comprehensive computer system without anything else.
The whole install process for Debian is so easy and extremely robust that you don't really need to worry about hanging onto lots of things. If you find you need an application then you grab it using one of the many installation programs or if you are old like me, using the command line with 'sudo apt-get install someprogram', it then grabs a small amount of internet bandwidth to download the parts it needs. You can see what it will download and install from the messages, warning if you want to install a KDE program on a gnome base (these are for want of a better term look and feel parts of Linux) it will install a LOT of other programs so if the download is high look for another similar program and try again.
Regarding the free versus nonfree. I would say most linux users do not have 'pure' free system with flash immediately springing to mind. So you need to consider what you want to do with your machine first and the politics second. You will need to understand there is free as freedom of speech, free as in costs nothing and paid applications on Linux.
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