The basic apps for a freshly installed operating system on a notebook are related to the work you're doing but you can go this way as a base regarding applications that need to be installed.
You can install Chrome or Firefox as browsers, Winamp and VLC as video and audio players, Adobe Reader for PDF files, Avast antivirus, Eset Antivirus or AVG for the system protection against active threats, CCleaner for uninstalling and registry cleaning.
As an addition, you could make use of the Total Commander to manage the files more easily, ImgBURN to burn image file or Nero for a multi purpose burning operation (data CD/DVDs, audio CDs, etc.).
These are practically the base applications that are recommended to be installed on a notebook.