http://ninite.com is the first website you should visit after you have bought your shiny new computer. This website lets you choose which essential programs that you want to download and lets you download all of them at once with their installer.
This software wont install any junk on your computer, only the programs that you want to download. It has options such as web browsing (Chrome and Firefox) and messaging software (Skype and Thunderbird) to security (AVG and Malwarebytes) and media software (VLC and Winamp). Its quick, its easy, its free and I highly recommend it for new computer buyers.