Desiding upon a language?

I would start with C# or Java if you want things to be simple and clean. Both languages are easy to learn and very usefull. I would not recommend learning any Basic dialect. If you want a language closer to the hardware then you could learn Delphi/(Free)Pascal or C++. But especially C++ can be difficult, and I personally find it a bit "ugly" (in the sense that the programmer needs to take care of things which the computer can do a lot better).

For C# you can download Visual Studio 2008 C# Express free of charge. For Java I would recommend using Eclipse and the of course the Java SDK from Sun (both free of charge as well).

To learn, just go to the next public library near you and grab some books that teach you the basics of the language.

There is no "the best" when it comes to a programming language. As for Visual Basic, exactly which version did you try? Just get Visual Basic Express from Microsoft -- it's free and it's modern. It works on any modern NT core windows (i.e., 2000/XP/Vista/7).

It really depends entirely on what you're ultimate goal is. Do you want to be an applications programmer? VB and Java are the way to go.

Games? C++, Python (via PyGame), C# and Java are the way to go.

Web applications? ASP, PHP, Ajax, Flash.

Operating systems? C and ASM are your best bets.

One thing you'll need to understand about programming languages is that you're going to have a lot of difficulty if you don't shell out at least a few dollars for a decent book. I've found that most tutorials online are crap written by a few enthusiastic individuals who have no idea what they're talking about. This isn't a blanket statement -- I've also seen some fantastic tutorials and articles as well. The point being you can't rely on a few tutorials to learn a programming language.

Programming languages are complex. That's why they're called languages. You will not be learning one or becoming an expert with one in a week. Expect to take several months to become proficient with most languages and years to become an expert.

Another thing to understand is that it's very helpful to learn multiple languages. There is no 'best' language that can do everything. There are languages that are better suited to a particular problem domain than other languages (e.g., you wouldn't use VB to build a next-gen FPS game nor would you use C++ to build a web application). Sure, you can do most things with most languages but some are just plain better suited to a particular task.

Also, there are some languages that are better for beginners to start with than others. C++, for example, is a great example of what not to start with. It's filled with far too many pitfalls and subtlties that will just serve to frustrate and confuse someone new to programming. Java is a much better way to go -- it'll be easier to migrate to C++ after having experience with Java as the syntax between the two is similar in many ways.

If you're not interested in develop cross-platform applications/games/whatever, C# may also be a good choice. It will only run on Microsoft platforms (e.g., Windows, XBox) but so far as I've heard and see it's a great language to use for beginner and advanced programmers alike. It's especially suited for games (or so it seems) so that may be a good choice for you as well.

Just remember this, whatever language(s) you decide to learn get proper books! Internet tutorials are supplemental, not substitutional.

I know this is a good bit of reading but I hope it helps.