There is no best linux distro, but I really like Arch. I like it for the same reason I like Reaper. It's a barebones system, and you need to install all the extras yourself. Most other distros come with loads of pre-installed stuff.

Arch sort of forces you to learn the fundamentals of Linux, which in contrast to what most folk think are actually fairly simple. It doesn't take a big brain. Just more time. But it pays off! You can make any kind of system you can imagine.

Nowadays you have a few opinionated Arch-based distros, like Omarchy for example. If not for Niri (window tiling manager) I would definately just run Omarchy if I had to start over. It's essentially a version of Arch that has already been riced (to rice means to customize).

Super sleek looking, easy to use productivity focus distro.

 

Bazzite is good if you plan on gaming, also easy to install other applications with the bazaar store that comes preinstalled. It is an immutable distro which can be an upside or downside, personally i view it as upside for users switching from windows because it means less chance of you bricking your device by messing with things.

 

Yes, these days maybe Bazzite, CachyOS, or PopOS should be given a chance because they are trying to cater to Windows users with more GUI tools as opposed to Debian for which you have to know Linux at least somewhat, be familiar and comfortable with command line, to make the best of it and not brick it. Once you become familiar with Linux, you may want to change for a different distro. Like, my first Linux distro that I used for browsing was Mint Debian Edition. It taught me that life with Linux is not a walk in a park. I managed to brick it somewhat, not completely but enough that it annoyed me, and then I went Debian way. Bricked my first Debian, too. And then I installed Debian 7 that lasted me for 11 years, updating it every two years. Yes, Debian is a kind of rolling release, and it's fairly easy to update. They just always warn that things might not go well, but they did for me. Every time. 7>8>9>10>11>12.

Ubuntu, Xubuntu (Xfce), Kubuntu (KDE) are also nice and easier to use than Debian. There are plenty of musicians who use it. Generally Xubuntu and Kubuntu versions. Check LinuxMusicians website if you want to check what other people who make music with Linux use. I'm a member there, of course. But I don't feel like using forums these days. Life got too complicated...

 

Last edited: Dec 1, 2025