Choosing a Linux Distribution

Now we've gotten to the fun part. You've read about what the differences between distributions are and why they exist at a higher level, now it's time to actually get your hands dirty.

If you don't want to listen to me yap, my primary recommendation is this: Use what's popular. Using a popular distro will mean that there is a lot of information out there regarding fixing potential problems. It also means that there is a wide userbase that can and will provide support. Finally, larger distros tend to have larger, more active dev teams, meaning issues or vulnerabilities will be patched quickly.

This leads to my other primary recommendation: Join communities/chats related to your distro. Most widely used distros have a Discord, forum, or some other chat you can join. You should join that. Discord and IRC in particular can help you get support quickly, since there's usually knowledgable people hanging around. (Though if you don't want to spend time there for anything besides support, I don't blame you.) Joining these communities also ensures you get updates about what's going on with your distro and in the Linux community in general.

When asking for support, always remember to be polite and state your problem clearly. Provide relevant information when requested. And remember, don't ask to ask, just ask.

Good Beginner Distributions

These are the distributions that I would actually recommend to people who have never used Linux at all, and want to dip their toes in. These distributions focus on working out of the box, being able to be configured graphically as opposed to needing the terminal for some things. (You can still use the terminal if you want, though!) You might've heard of at least some of these.

Linux Mint

Screenshot of the Linux Mint desktop

https://www.linuxmint.com
Based on Debian/Ubuntu

More Info ⮝

Nobara

Screenshot of the Nobara desktop

https://nobaraproject.org
Based on Fedora

More Info ⮝

Pop!_OS

Screenshot of the Pop!_OS desktop

https://pop.system76.com
Based on Debian/Ubuntu

More Info ⮝

Good Intermediate/Advanced Distributions

The prior distributions are meant to be more or less plug and play with little user modification to use required, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with using a "beginner" distribution like Mint, even for advanced users. However, some may wish to have more control over what their system installs by default and not have a bunch of unwanted programs or utilities taking up space for no reason. For more seasoned users, many of the helpful graphical utilities installed by default on beginner distributions can be seen as unnecessary abstractions that get in the way of managing the system. The following distros focus less on providing a polished out of the box experience and more on giving users the tools to craft the system they want. More or less every popular desktop can be chosen during install, so you can get the exact experience you want. Some basic terminal experience is recommended. If you're good at reading and following instructions, it's not even a bad idea to try one of these distros out as your first one. It is my recommendation that Linux users that have become proficient at using the distros from the previous section give some of the ones in this section a try. You might actually like using them better.

These distros are what I consider to be the "big three" distros, as the vast majority of Linux users use either these exact distros or a distro that is forked (modified with custom changes, tweaks, and additions) from one of these distros, meaning that support will be very good. Of course, they are not the end-all be-all of good Linux distros, but these are the main ones I consider relevant.

Debian

Screenshot of a Debian Linux desktop

https://www.debian.org
Independent

More Info ⮝

Fedora

Screenshot of the default Fedora Linux desktop

https://fedoraproject.org/workstation
Independent

More Info ⮝

Arch Linux

Screenshot of some person's custom Arch destkop

https://archlinux.org
Independent

More Info ⮝

Tenative Recommendations

The following distros are ones that aren't bad, but have a sort of "gotcha" that might cause problems in the long term. Also they're just kind of controversial in the community right now. There's nothing stopping you from using these at all, just be aware of any potential pitfalls they might have.

Ubuntu

Screenshot of the Ubuntu Desktop

https://ubuntu.com/desktop
Based on Debian

More Info ⮝

Manjaro

Screenshot of the Ubuntu Desktop

https://ubuntu.com/desktop
Based on Arch

More Info ⮝

Non Recommendations

These distributions are ones that I personally consider to be unfit for beginners alltogether. That does not mean that they are bad distros, but it does mean that they have either a specialized purpose besides normal desktop usage or they expect users to already be familiar with the ins and outs of Linux. If you want to go ahead and experiment with these distros, please do so. Just know what if you expect to daily drive these with no experience, you're gonna be in for a bad time.

Gentoo

Old screenshot of some random Gentoo desktop

https://www.gentoo.org
Independent

More Info ⮝

Kali Linux

Screenshot of the default Kali Linux desktop

https://www.kali.org
Based on Debian

More Info ⮝
Back