There are many other upstream distributions like Slackware and Gentoo. But for the purpose of this guide, only the most popular ones are listed. All Linux distros come with a package manager.
Desktop distros
Avoid
Why
Ubuntu installs Snap packages without user consent and has a history of privacy issues.
Performance-oriented distros are often unstable and bloated with unnecessary gaming themes.
Consider
Why
Downstream distros are lean but require more setup because they are unconfigured.
Considerable modifications to upstream packages and default themes but are still generally user-friendly.
Immutable OS is a good choice for servers. They rely on sandboxing and containerization for installing applications. But if the server mainly runs containers, it is more convenient to use distros with web-based container management like Proxmox or TrueNAS SCALE.
Prefer
Why
Arch Linux with a graphical installer, sensible defaults and minimal theme customizations.
TrueNAS SCALE supports ZFS out of the box and manages containerized applications with a web interface. However, the file sharing is served from the host system, which may break in the event of misconfiguration.
Consider
Why
Decent alternatives to RHEL, known for servers with GUIs.
Notably easier to setup than TrueNAS, ZFS support is available with plugins.
Prefer
Why
Proxmox VE is scalable with Cluster Manager and extensive documentation to passthrough hardware to VMs.
Older desktop environment that still uses GTK 2, GTK 3 builds are experimental.
Based on GNOME or modify GTK stylesheets that break GTK themes on other applications.
Consider
Why
COSMIC is unique in that it does not use GTK or Qt.
Lightweight desktop environments are perfect for older hardware or VMs with limited resources. However, the interface is outdated and do not support Wayland.
Prefer
Why
GNOME has a cleaner interface but requires extensions to be usable.
Every component of KDE desktop is configurable, this may be appealing to some users but can be irritating to others.
Bootloaders
Consider
Why
Older bootloader with BIOS and UEFI support. Easy to configure with dual-boot Windows due to automatic OS probing.
Prefer
Why
Direct kernel loading from the ESP and slightly faster boot times.
macOS
macOS does not have pre-installed package managers, install Homebrew to install applications from the command line.
