Stepping up my Gnu/Linux Game.

I've been using Gnu/linux on and off for a few years now. I started using it when my friend recommended Suse, and I remember it was pretty god damn awesome, something about that system I've always loved. But I never did stick with it. A year or so ago I decided to install ubuntu, probably because of all the hype and user friendliness.

Now after some time, I'm ready to step up my Gnu/Linux game and completely install a new Gnu/Linux distro all together.

You may be wondering why?..well I want a system which can be a little more challenging and which can give me a lot more control over it. Ubuntu is fine, but once you get past understanding what Gnu/Linux is about, you realize that the system itself is designed to aid you along, which kinda limits your education. I only started to learn about how Gnu/Linux works not by using the distro, but rather solving problems that popped up.

Ubuntu is fine for people who just want to get on with things and that's fine, because I think we all need a system like that

But it's the little things that annoy me like the people who put together said distro decide what programs I should use, and I almost always end uninstalling the default programs and installing programs of my choice.

So I'm asking what distribution shall I choose, because I know a few people on here who have had experience with quite a few distributions, far more than I have had anyway.

I'm also getting tired of GNOME desktop as well and may give KDE a shot.

Slackware, Arch Linux or Gentoo will do perfectly.
If you really want to learn, go for Linux From Scratch or T2 SDE.

Arch Linux is more desktop oriented and the package manager is a charm. Slackware's package manager is a pain. Gentoo resolves around compiling from source.
Slackware's is more stable while Arch is more bleeding edge.

Linux From Scratch is a learning tool and nothing else, while T2 is System Development environment but can also be a great learning tool.

[Prometheum]

You could also check out gNewSense. It's derived from Ubuntu, and has the same level of "noob"-ishness, but it's also in very early stages, so there's a lot of work to be done for it (programming and otherwise) that will require you to become intimately familiar with the system.