Recommend me an Ubuntu version

[Oskuro]

Ok, here's the deal, I want to set up a work environment using Ubuntum for a series of projects, both in the general computer-engineering area (for college) as more specifically for graphics (game) programming, as well as art programs to draw comics and stuff.

Since the last Ubuntu update I underwent kind of made it all go wonky, I'll probably reinstall. I was wondering wich version is better suited for my programming needs (C++ mostly, using Code:Blocs as an IDE, with some Blender thrown in the mix for 3D, Gimp for graphics, and whatever I can find for video/audio editing).

Suggestions? (If a non-Ubuntu Linux version is highly recommended, I might give it a try too).

[Bounty]

The only difference between Ubuntu versions is the desktop environment and specialized multimedia packages; however, you can modify pretty much any variant into pretty much every other variant with the package manager. So it's a bit of a moot point. Just get an disc image with whatever window manager tickles your fancy (Xfce is my personal favourite).

[Turin]

If you've been relatively happy with Ubuntu, try Linux Mint. It's basically just Ubuntu bundled with a "just works" philosophy on multimedia codecs, video drivers, Flash, etc. If you're just looking for a simple Linux install so you can get some work done, you'll be hard-pressed to beat that.

(Note: It's definitely not the sort of thing for a Linux-nerd-in-the-making, but if you want to do that you can always have a virtual machine to play with Slackware or whatever while your "work computer" remains safe. But that didn't sound like the sort of thing you were looking for anyway.)

[Oskuro]

I'm mostly concerned about stability, since I was considering upgraing to the latest version, but some people at the office have spoken aganist it, stating that the "community" prefers to stick with a previous verison.

[Bounty]

Ubuntu upgrades tend to be clusterfucks.

If you want long-term stability, consider 8.04 LTS ("Long Term Support"). It's behind the cutting edge but it's been out for yonks and most of the big bugs should be ironed out, and it will be supported for quite some time.