Yes, I know what you mean; my experience mirrored yours. After replacing routers every year, (including an expensive one I hoped would last longer) I bought the cheapest one on NewEgg, resigned to replacing it within a year. At 3 years and counting, I've never even had to power cycle it. Stay away from the blue ones; they're the worst.
Of the several distros I've tried, Eeebuntu wins, hands down. Installation, configuration, ease of use, driver support -- all built-in. Available in two fresh flavors, for a full or reduced desktop.
http://www.eeebuntu.org/