From what I heard and read, AV Linux is advised for audio. Also Manjaro. Personally I found AV Linux somehow not so user friendly in its GUI, even though it's based on MX Linux which I use.
As desktop I prefer XFCE over Gnome and KDE, but that is just a matter of taste. You can try for yourself which desktop appeals best.

One of the nice things is that you can try Linux in a Live system. Or you could use Virtual Box in your windows system to run it. So you can look and click around and install and see for yourself if it is appealing enough for you. You also can install a Live system on a usb stick and run it from boot. Choices more than enough.

My advice:
- Try out some Linux distributions.
- Select one that you like to try out.
- Wait with your music programs. Keep windows as safe backup for making music.
- Now test if you can do your regular day-to-day stuff (means: everything not music related). Web browsing is exact the same so no problem. Do you use Thunderbird for email? No problem. Works in Linux just the same. But which other programs do you use? Like m$ Office. The Linux alternative is LibreOffice or OpenOffice. Check if it works for what you need. If there is no good Linux variant, install Wine and test if your favorite windows program works under Wine. My experience is that a lot of programs work out of the box under Wine.
- At the moment you feel comfortable enough with your Linux desktop in that it makes no difference for you anymore if you use windows or Linux, start testing your music software. You can choose a DAW that has a Linux version like Reaper or Bitwig, or you can start using your window s Daw under Wine. For example, I have a Reaper license and I run Reaper as Linux version as well as Reaper windows version under Wine. Both work perfect. Get familiar with the Wine environment. Install some plugins you use. Check if it works. A lot of plugins, according to my experience by YMMV depending on your preferences of plugins, work out of the box. If not, check if you absolutely need that plugin or if there is an alternative plugin that does the same. If a plugin does not work, I admit it can get complicated although there are solutions like Bottles that you can start using.

But the biggest question first is: can a Linux distribution run the programs that you need for your day-to-day business. It that is already a challenge, then getting your music stuff to work is probably a bridge too far for this moment.

My experience is most of the PC users can do their daily work with a Linux distribution:
1) For some windows programs there is a Linux version available.
2) For some windows programs there is a Linux alternative, for example LibreOffice for m$ Office, Double Commander for Total Commander etc.
3) A lot of windows programs run without problem under Wine.
4) Only people that need very specific windows programs or with difficult protections like iLok etc there maybe problems getting Linux alternatives or getting it running under Wine.

Music users will experience challenges depending on what music programs they use. For some plugins there are Linux very good alternatives that work pretty well. A lot of plugins work out of the box under Wine. But there are also plugins that need extra work to get them running. Sometimes a lot of work and sometimes unfortunately you will not succeed to get the plugin to work. But thankfully there are alternatives that do work. You need to change a little bit you way of working.
Keep in my mind: yes, Linux does require some extra effort but does windows always runs without problem after an update when m$ has "conveniently" defaulted your privacy settings or decided to change the place for some settings? Or decides that you have to buy a new PC because the new version does not work for you? Nice example: I upgraded my current system from MX21 to MX25. You would think that my 6 year old average i5 PC would become slower. Nope. Startup is faster, some programs are even more than 10 times faster.

So, yes, Linux has challenges. But don't forget there are a lot of benefits when using Linux!

 

See my post above.

 

I would actually recommend Bazzite, CachyOS, PopOS, or one of Ubuntu flavours for a complete novice to Linux who is used to Window's ways of doing things. Thankfully, many distributions got easier to install nowadays. If you want to be able to easily install many .deb installations (Debian compatible) choose one that uses .debs, not .rpms. What's more important is ease of use and all that, than choosing a distro, is the right desktop environment (Xfce, GNOME, KDE, MATE...), with well coded Window Manager, File Manager, System Tray, Toolbars... you know.

Once you have a distro installed, you can make with it whatever you want. You can make it look and work like whatever you want, unlike Windows or MacOS. This is where a lot of people stumble. Learn about Desktop Environments, Windows Managers, Compositing Managers, File and Archive Managers beforehand. Or just install whatever and call it "my first Linux installation I am going to destroy". The best way to learn anything it by playing with it and ultimately destroying it.

I'm using Debian 12 with MATE desktop environment. Thinking of using Xfce if the situation with MATE (slow updates) doesn't get better. I can make it look absolutely the same with Xfce. That's the power of Linux.

Like this, I went for a bit more modern look this time. Both toolbars can be hidden. Window list auto-hides. Cheers!



p.s. there is a list of Windows plugins I installed and use in Reaper.