"best" Linux distro?

[Veraster]

I currently have Ubuntu Linux on my pc. The only problem is that some number of years ago when I installed it, I was careless enough to use the 32 bit version
So I am going to install some version of Linux. I just don't know if I should install Ubuntu again or something else. Compared to Windows, Ubuntu is harder to use and a lot less drivers work. The #1 thing I care about is drivers. Ubuntu doesn't work with very many different sound, video cards or wireless cards. Ubuntu isn't compatible with my video card and dual monitor setups. #2 would be functionality. For example, it would be nice to have a major distribution that more programs are made for. the 3rd most important thing for me is ease of use.

Which distribution would one of you Linux experts out there recommend? Am I better off continuing to use Ubuntu? What is the "best" Linux distro?

 

[iFargle]

I'm partial to Linux Mint
http://linuxmint.com/

 

[SudoHalt]

Yeah, Linux Mint is my favorite for its ease of use. But when talking about drivers it is based on Ubuntu, I don't think there will be an improvement.

 

[Veraster]

I just installed the Mate and Cinnamon versions of Mint in a virtual machine. The UI looks way better than the one on Ubuntu looks.. I hate gnome or whatever they call the one in Ubuntu.

 

[iFargle]

In the newer ones it's called Unity and is based on Gnome.


Have you tried out KDE?

 

[Veraster]

No I haven't. I'll try it later when I get a chance.

 

[Matt77]

I like Knoppix too

 

[jakec]

Linux Distro Chooser;

zegenie Studios Linux Distribution Chooser

I am also partial to PCLinuxOS
Get PCLinuxOS » PCLinuxOS

cheers,

Jake

 

[MyGodAL3X]

I use Ubuntu.
But I have installed different Desktop Environments and I tend to stick with Cinnamon.
If you decide to stick with Ubuntu for its drivers and functionality, you can still change the way it looks by installing new Desktop Environments.

 

[Jayce]

I've tried 101 different distros. For some reason or another, I came back to Ubuntu. I used to hate Unity until 12.04 landed. Now that I'm so used to it (particularly HUD, where you hit the ALT key and type whatever menu item you want), I find myself lost when I'm on Windows or Mac systems that don't have it. I do firmly believe that you should use a Linux distro tailored to whatever your needs/tasks are. For my server, which is a little Atom powered nettop, I run Ubuntu Server (no GUI). For my Raspberry Pi, I run Raspbian, which is a Debian based ARM distro. I've used Fedora countless times with decent success as well as regular Debian.