I'm going back to the old reactionary position these days. NEVER pick up Linux because you are sick of Windows. Linux is actually just a kernel which was originally written to run programs developed on UNIX such as the GNU Tools and X-Windows (which with it are the GNU/Linux Operating system). Most of the packages which have been available for it over the years got their start in universities. In fact I first learned about it in college where I got a Linux account because our school couldn't afford a Unix system to run g++ and Netscape -- which wasn't yet available for Windows but compiled fine on Linux from the Unix source code. Beryl which merged with Compiz and was copied as Aero is another example. If you surf the net for a "free Unix" account it is as likely to be a free Debian Linux account as it is FreeBSD or OpenSolaris. And since they all use GNU tools it's pretty much a no-brainer that the user interface is functionally identical.
You should use linux to learn more about how your computer works. Live CDs are a good way to go, and as for distros, trying as many as possible without installing any is a better way to be introduced to it than the way I was (first that college account, then various Unix shell accounts, then I finally installed Red Hat as a dual boot).
Since you are a musician producer, there are a couple of multimedia livecds you might look at. The first, and smaller (650MB fits on a single CD and is a complete OS with video audio and podcasting tools) is called dyne:bolic, intended "for media activists".
http://www.dynebolic.org
One I've never tried, because I just found out about it and it runs off a live dvd, is apodia:
http://www.apo33.org/apodio/doku.php
There is also an Ubuntu multimedia, but frankly, though a few of the derivatives make good live CDs, it runs better as an install. You can try wubi at:
http://www.wubi-installer.org
which runs Ubuntu on top of Windows. You will find eventually, that Linux is infinitely customizable -- you can start from zero and get to the point where Micro$oft or Apple would call you a "pirate" if you did that to their OSes, because the process is so well documented often by the people whose packages you are customizing, so it really doesn't matter if your OS is media-centric or programming centric once you get started.
A better Live CD is one which was created by people associated with the GNU Tools to showcase what Ubuntu would be like without proprietary codecs and other additions. Called gNewSense it runs incredibly smoothly. You browse the web with a browser called Epiphany, also available for any system which uses the Gnome Desktop, and so forth. The only thing to warn you about is that most of their sample media files are propaganda. That can be annoying.
http://www.gnewsense.org
There is a small live CD which, once you are on line, is infinitely customizable. And I have reason to be optimistic you will be I shall get to. Like dyne:bolic it is closely based on Slackware (the one major distribution which lacks its own live cd) and it can give you a taste of the POWER at your fingertips with out a lot of investment which you will still have to make if you want that power all the time:
http://www.slax.org
Finally, here is a direct link: not to the project's home page ( http://www.knoppix.com ) but to a live cd iso image which is two years old. The cd is actually intended as a tool for Computer Consultants. Until the latest version, it was accessible to anyone who wanted to use Linux with a KDE or Fluxbox desktop. Its hardware recognition is AWESOME and along with the diagnostic tools it has Firefox rebranded as Iceweasel for technical reasons, OpenOffice.org and even some card games:
http://csociety-ftp.ecn.purdue.edu/pub/knoppix/KNOPPIX_V5.1.1CD-2007-01-04-EN.iso
The new version is more focused on diagnostic tools.
As I said above, ALL the major distributions have their own LiveCDs so don't restrict yourself to my list -- try as many as sound interesting. You obviously don't have to restrict yourself to Linux either:
http://www.freesbie.org
distributes a great FreeBSD liveCD. You have to learn new hardware device names to use it (in linux typing "sudo dhcpcd eth0" in an xterm will often get you up with less hassle than finding the network connection tool on the menu. On freesbie the same trick works but I can't rremember what to use instead of eth0.)
I did a check on your modem at:
http://www.google.com/linux
A few problems were reported but also a lot of great stuff. I would not worry about going on line with it -- especially if you stick to wubi or live CDs and DON"T INSTALL until you can DO what you want with Linux. Which is always a learning curve.