If you really want the Microsoft Solution, VS is the way to go. I personally prefer GCC, but that's just me. It competed against, Microsoft Quick C and was generally considered faster. After 2.0 it this product was replaced with Borland Turbo C++. First introduced in 1987, it was noted for its integrated development environment, small size, fast compile speed, comprehensive manuals and low price.

Plus, it runs on linux too, so you could make that transition even easier on yourself. Turbo C is an Integrated Development Environment and compiler for the C programming language from Borland. However, if you're looking for something a bit more lightweight, CodeBlocks is also rather good, and has the added benefit of being able to use basically any compiler you have installed (including several forms of GCC and the Microsoft Compiler that comes with Visual Studio) and being able to open project files fro other IDEs. Visual Studio is the Microsoft version, and although it has its issues, it is an excellent IDE for working with the code.

If you're looking for an IDE, I have two recommendations. That will compile your programs natively for windows, using a standard library, etc. I recommend that you use the MinGW distribution of GCC. Its probably best that you use it until you become more comfortable with something else. Its a standards compliant c/c++ compiler, and I use it for windows programs on a daily basis. GCC is not technically a linux specific compiler.

Turbo c compiler for windows 10