Stable - Not for cutting-edge hardware (except with new major upgrade usually) Now that ZorinOS 17 is out it is again a great recommendation as it update the kernel and brought more hardware support ! One of the most polished distro as of today ! The Pro version is optional and simply a way to supports the developement of the OS by basically bringing you premium layout such as macOS-like.

Howver when next ZorinOS major version upgrade will release you will probably have to pay again as it wasn't possible to upgrade from 16 Pro to 17 Core. It's based on Ubuntu (which is based on Debian) and thus have tons of ressources for beginners !

Stable - Not for cutting-edge hardware (except with new major upgrade usually) If you're a Windows 10 Kubuntu is a wonderful distro to start. It's based on the battletested Ubuntu just like Zorin with a familiar UX thanks to KDE Plasma, however you can easily customize it to your desires.

Stable - Not for cutting-edge hardware (except with new major upgrade usually) If you're a Windows 10 Linux Mint is a great start. If you have a good PC go with Cinnamon, if your machine is quiet old I'll recommend you the xfce edition. It's based on Ubuntu (which is based on Debian) which have tons of ressources for beginners ! The UI is a bit old but not outdated and on Linux you can tweak it as your liking.

If you want something different Fedora is probably the way to go now. Usually more cutting edge while still being stable and not latest-latest.

Worth mentioning : Pop!_OS (Ubuntu based)

Based on Fedora, bazzite has become a popular distribution for gamers by providing a good OOTB experience with plenty of tools installed by default. While being a fairly young project you can't deny it's impact on the linux gaming community.

A gaming distro made by a french community. Based on Nix this new linux gaming distribution is quite interesting and brings all you need to game by default. It is made to be used by ex-Windows users that just wants to game.

It also has Studio and Studio Pro variant that brings tools for Content Creators and Streamer. It does this like simplyfiyng the setup of DaVinci Resolve which can be a pain on many distros.

If you want to setup a gaming rig as a console in your livingroom or on a TV screen this is the distro to choose. AMD GPU only

Worth mentioning : Bazzite HTPC mode Nvidia & Intel GPU support in Steam Gaming Mode and on HTPCs is available as a beta with known issues that cannot be fixed by the Bazzite team. Nobara Linux NVidia ISO available too !

A modified version of Fedora oriented to gamers and content creator (Out of the box DaVinci Resolve support) with the Cachy-Linux kernel. This distro is made by Glorious Eggroll, A RedHat (Fedora) engineer known in the linux-gaming community for his work on GE-Proton. The official version come with a modified KDE Plasma DE that will be closer to a Windows UI/UI. There is also Stock GNOME and Stock KDE.

It let you setup for HTPC like ChimeraOS or bazzite but also available for handhelds devices

The new flashy Arch-based distro. Known for its custom kernel used in Nobara for example.

If you want to use Arch you better learn what you need and how to install it. This will make your OS truely yours and tailored to your needs and machine. Way better than using an opinionated arch distro in general.

A very different kind of distro, nothing you used before compares. It uses a declarative approach, nearly impossible to break. Largest library of packages (yes more complete than AUR).

I suggest the YouTube channel Vimjoyer to learn about NixOS

Your default file manager should be fine but Dolphin could be nicer

Firefox is my go to browser for Linux don't forget to disable telemetry in settings and install uBlock Origin ! Arkenfox is a great ressource if you want to harden your FF browser !

Worth mentioning : LibreWolf Brave ungoogled-chromium + uBlock Origin

If like my you use multiple browsers daily this one will be useful. Set it as your browser by default and when clicking on a link it will prompt which browser you want to open. It let you also choose for other software such as email client, image viewer, file explorer, etc...

Worth mentioning : Braus for Arch users

An elegant music player !

Worth mentioning : Elisa

The king of media player !

Worth mentioning : MPV

A nice e-mail client for Linux !

If the image visualizer that come with your distro not suit your needs look at the KDE one !

A PDF (and ePub/ebooks) reader for Linux !

You can choose between many different ways to install softwares on linux. It can be confusing for new comers ! I would personally recommend Flatpak first. It's universal (works with any distro), tends to deliver more up to date versions of softwares and integrate well with your default Linux App Store. Just download any flatpak from Flathub 's website, install it and now they should be added in your AppStore !

A simple download manager for faster and more reliable downloads.

The Launcher for Linux gamers. Enable Steam Play (Proton) in the steam settings and you will be able to play most steam games without any other tweaking !

Epic Games does not have Linux client so Linux gamers made one ! Works with GOG.com too and other stores.

Allow you to easily (most of the time) installing Windows games and software with scripts that will do every tweaking for you ! So you will not cry trying to do stuff with Wine

Worth mentioning: Lutris

A mod manager for Thunderstore

A linux mod manager for NexusMods

If you want to emulate retro games this one is gold when you know how to use it !

The GUI app for Wine ! Wine is mandatory if you want Windows softaware/games supports. It's not super user friendly but thanks to tools like this one or Lutris it's easier.

Worth mentioning: CrossOver

If your friends game on PC, they probably use this one to communicate !

Worth mentioning: Stoat Chat Fluxer Spacebar Nerimity

Collects and logs details about game performance in games using OpenGL/Vulkan. Can display live statistics in overlay.

To backup your saves

To manage games backups !

If you're playing PCVR with a wired headset this makes it really easy to setup.

Guide: https://wiki.vronlinux.org/docs/fossvr/envision/

If you're playing PCVR with a standalone headset this is the way on Linux.

Guide: https://wiki.vronlinux.org/docs/fossvr/wivrn/

If you have RGB on your gaming RIG this helps you manage them for any constructor like Razer, AORUS, ASUS, MSI, etc...

A great GPU app if you're on NVidia

The GPU hardware monitor and tweaker GUI for Linux user. See real time info, Overclock, set profiles and more

A simple utility to configure Logitech steering wheels, for Linux.

If I have to do some image manipulation or photo editing ! (it's a WebApp)

If you want something local and FOSS, GIMP is the king.

Install PhotoGIMP if you come from Photoshop

If you need to create or edit vector images

If you do photography this is useful for photo editing !

Worth mentioning: RapidRAW More modern UI ART RawTherapee fork that is simpler to use

If you want to draw !

If you want to create font and make typography !