Comparison of some basic CMS systems

I think I can learn by working with a couple

[gstick]

Would appreciate some suggestions on 2 or 3 CMS
downloads that are considered fairly basic and reliable.

The CMS universe is large and confusing.

[Smiley]

This may help:
[webmasterworld.com...]

Have you tried searching webmasterworld for CMS using google as you'll find loads of answers to your question.

[choster]

[cmsmatrix.org...]
[opensourcecms.com...]

[wmuser]

Above two URLs are the best resources out there