Semi-new administrator looking for suggestions

You might want to consider using one of the standard Linux distributions instead of trying to get FreeBSD running; it is technically possible, but installing a web server is going to be the absolute least of your struggles.

Also, if you choose Debian or Ubuntu and are stuck with needing PHP and MySQL, deploy from StackScript: http://www.linode.com/stackscripts/view … criptID=10">http://www.linode.com/stackscripts/view/?StackScriptID=10

@LucasG:

It's been a while since I get to raw Linux. I've decided to get a FreeBSD linode and get a complete web server setup. What's the best way to get started as it's been a while without doing all this from the core rather than having cPanel?

Umm, it looks like you're not really comfortable with FreeBSD, either. (If you were really a FreeBSD guru, you would have found the relevant ports already!) In that case, I'd agree with @hoopycat that you should stick to Linux which enjoys much better support around here. AFAIK FreeBSD on Linode is still very much experimental, so you'll come across lots of undocumented perks.