Crux 2.0 Evolution gives me the basic system I desire "out-of-the-box" and I only install what i want installed. not bloated up with a huge amount of programs that i have to end up removing after being required to install them.

I recommend adding prt-get as makes dependency installation a snap. prt-get depinst pkgname ...and it gets it all.

I have used various distos over the last 4 years, and this distro is "Hands-Down" my favorite. I'll probably get flamed to death for this, but it kind of like a cross between apt-get meets Freebsd ports in a way. I prefer to install from source and this allows that in an easy to manage system.

Download it, install it and enjoy getting your knuckles dirty!

crux linux is a very lightweight distro for experienced users and intermediates alike. i personally only had minor problems to do with my complex hardware setup, but the guys at the #crux irc channel (irc.freenode.net) helped me a lot and i am now running it without a hitch.
the package management system also works well, and compared to rpm a lot better, as there is no problem updating from source.
this has been my favourite distro by far, particularly because it integrates cutting edge software with being lightweight, so ideal for older hardware.

Very good distro.
But not recomended for console haters.
http://crux.nu/doc/handbook.html <-- Very good step-by-step handbook.
Took some time to configure it but it was worth it.
Didnt hear of this distro before, but it will remain on my spare box for a while.