Hi dude,
indeed what you're trying to do is the most fundamental on what you want to learn.
If you're a computer science grad or wannabe, then learning OOP through C++ should really be helpful to provide u a solid foundation.

If you're an engineer or have to manipulate a lot of data, doing a lot of background stuff, then perl is for you.

If you want to do window type programming, either choose c# or java, which language is totally a matter of your personal choice :)
Or if you just want to program for fun, maybe vb.net? it's syntax is easier to learn. and you can still leverage on the powerful .net framework
~that's just my two cents~