Hi there guys,

I am looking to install a version of Linux onto my laptop as well as Windows 7. I would like to know any and all tips that you may be able to offer me. Also, I am new to Linux, so any ideas as to Distribution choices may help me. I'm looking for a good version that I can learn the basics of Linux use as best as possible.

Thanks in advance.

I would not install anything. Go get a copy of slax and burn it to a cd/dvd. It is lightweight and you can run it from the cd/dvd. That way no messing with configuration files and what not until you get some linux time under your belt. Slax does save changes to the hd so when you reboot or what not it will still be there as before. http://slax.org for more information.

if you're new, get a live CD that has a graphical partitioning tool tool like gparted to partition your drive, this will make setting up partitions much easier.
Then, install using a GUI installation tool like the ones that come with: Fedora, Mint, Ubuntu, PClinuxOS, and other distributions (Mint is probably the easiest for brand new users coming over to linux, but all those listed should be okay as long as you stick with a stable release).
during installation you'll be asked where to install the linux bootloader (most likely grub), install it to the mbr of your dual-booted drive and you should be able to use it to boot to windows or to your new linux partition.

As always, make a backup before you do this, because if you make a mistake you run the risk of losing some or all of your data.

Edit: I was assuming a single hard drive, by the way, so if you have multiple hdd there may be a bit more to watch out for.

Thanks a lot guys. I look forward to some more ideas as soon as they come in. Just to let everyone know, I am planning on doing a clean install anyways of my hdd, so data is all backed up and everything already and im not too worried about those problems.

Another thing commonly talked about here is using virtualbox to try out a couple distros before you settle on one. Ubuntu also has a step-by-step process for setting up dual-boot.