this would actually save u some time and everyone else the effort of actually answering...since there is the "
2004 LinuxQuestions.org Members Choice Awards".
i doubt there have been any massive changes in opinions since then, except maybe gnome/kde.
as far as "tools" are concerned, to add to Tinkster's list...
bzip2
gzip
mc - midnight commander - text (ncurses) based file browser aka file explorer.
mpg321 - command-line mp3 player
the various mixers - aumix, alsamixer, kmix/kmixer
cdparanioa - "ripper"
anirudh