Actually, the number of packages available from Debian can be disputed, since it separates it's dev, debug, and data files. So the actual program count might be close to that of Gentoo and Archlinux.
But I whole-heartedly agree with Joe, once you learn how to partition correctly, Linux is a cinch. I find partitioning is the most dangerous part because you can wipe out your hard drive... which I've done... multiple times.