Much progress has been made since. Out of the box, almost any distribution (RedHat, Suse, etc), will give you a GUI install program. You still have to know what you're doing, but you shouldn't have to edit any config files for the install.

After the install, both KDE and Gnome offer GUI system administration tools. Can't say too much about them because I don't use them.

Someone earlier recommended Knoppix for those who'd like to try Linux without installing. I agree. It's excellent. Just download the image, make a CD of it and boot! Now you have a very capable linux machine without installing anything. Full GUI environment, good selection of applications, etc.

Knoppix is part of my geek EDC. You can do all sorts of cool stuff with just a Knoppix CD and a USB drive.

Get Knoppix here.