I will list below the distributions i've tried, and will talk about each one a little bit. This is not a RANKING, is a review! =D
Ubuntu
The distribution that I consider (not just me, of course) the responsible for popularize Linux to the masses, Ubuntu is the most straight-forward distribution available. Lots of enthusiasts, support, forums and all the crazy experiences possible were tested on this distro. It is a descendant of the ancient Debian.
This was the first version of Linux I had contact (without counting Kurumin Linux, a version created by Carlos Morimoto, also based on Debian - Debian is a father and grandfather of lots of distros available), and learned to use almost everything I know about Linux (that is not much XD) using Ubuntu.
With a really good interface until version 10 (Gnome 2 was the standard desktop manager - since Unity, I needed to change the interface to use Ubuntu, or use another "remix" (as named spin) with other desktop manager, like XFCE (Xubuntu), LXDE (Lubuntu) or KDE (Kubuntu)). Unity is a real problem for old-machines - I really recommend XFCE for most users.
Ubuntu has one specific remix to Multimedia users named Ubuntu Studio, that is worth trying for those searching for a Multimedia edition OS.
Changing the architecture, Ubuntu has an image of the LTS (Long Therm Support) version for ARM architectures with Hard Float Point - used on Raspberry Pi and Pandaboard, for example. I don't know if it's officially maintained by Canonical, but is functional and can open a path to your mobile/embedded development project also.
Mint
Mint is another Debian/Ubuntu descendant and is known for the stability and design of its interface. It uses Cinnamon - that is a really gorgeous desktop manager and also easy to use. If you have used Ubuntu and is used to the Debian-like commands, it's a great distro to try. And if you're a little nostalgic about the design of Gnome 2 (since Gnome 2 has been discontinued), Mint has a spin with MATE, that is a Gnome 2 clone (a resurrection from the ashes), as usual, a great desktop manager.
Debian
The grand-grand-grand-father of Linux distros, Debian is a safe-haven. If you need a hyper-stable version of Linux (i.e. for servers or mobile-nodes that you can't turnoff for maintenance when you want), this is your choice, but don't count with constant updates, since Debian is known to have really slow cycles of update. Of course, you still could update manually, but it can turn into a really tedious task. Compiling a new Kernel for Debian is worth trying and is very easy to do, just takes a considerable amount of time and patience, depending on your machine.
Debian is also known as the distro that can "run up in your fridge", and have compiled versions for most known architectures, including ARM. The ARM Image works really great, like a common x86 computer, but to install it, I needed to use a script written by a community user.
Gentoo
Known as a "Build from scratch" distro, Gentoo is a great flavor for those who have time, a huge amount of time and patience, since all you have ready to use is a live-cd from where you can prepare your system and build each part of your future OS. I've to stop trying to use this because I've passed a day trying to install it and at the end, that thing doesn't work as expected XD.
With a not so huge legion of users, who are known as "hardcore users", Gentoo still attract the crazy human beings that have an "insatiable thirst of knowledge", or not.
Slackware
Considered as the most PURE UNIX DESCENDANT (Linux Royalty), Slackware is also a grandfather, but doesn't have many grandchildren (I know just one, Zenwalk). It is a more complex and conservative distro, but have all the resources and specialization for desktop or servers - the customer's taste.
Also have a great legion of users, but Slackware is suffering from the same aging problem of Debian, with aggravating of just having ONE maintainer, Patrick Volkerding, an old-times developer.
For those who want to learn Linux with some depth, this will help you gain know-how for most system managers.
Slackware doesn't come with a standard Package Manager, but you can install yasm, that will help with this task. If you don't want to build your apps from scratch, there are sites like SlackBuilds, that offer pre-compiled and straight-forward installation for most common packages.
It comes with around 5 desktop managers included on the DVD, and you just need to choose (I really recommend using KDE if your machine allows, since it has a great appearance, but for most machines, XFCE is the choice).
ArchLinux
ArchLinux is great. You need to have some knowledge to install it (if you use ArchBang!, a spin based on ArchLinux, this problem is solved, as ArchBang! comes with a setup utility), an internet connection and a little patience. Lifehacker published a great tutorial to make your own ArchLinux installation (I use it when I need to install ArchLinux on a VM, since it's simple and useful).
You'll have the top edge software on the repositories, and a huge repository known as AUR (Arch User Repository) where you can find many specific packages not found on the official repositories.
The package manager for ArchLinux is pacman (you also use it for bring the dependencies when installing ArchLinux). If you want, you can install yaourt, that is capable to search also on AUR - piece of cake =].
ArchLinux doesn't have a standard desktop manager, again, taste of customer, but LXDE or XFCE is sufficient for most needs.
Fedora
Last, but not less important, Fedora. Fedora is currently supported by RedHat, and is a direct descendant from RedHat opensource initiative (together with CentOS - a corporative oriented opensource version of RedHat).
In my opinion, the better able to compete with Ubuntu, and also, my current OS.
It has a great stability and a huge repository, not as complete as Ubuntu, but this is avoided using RPMFusion (that add more repositories to the list and permit to install top edge applications via package manager).
The Fedora 20 comes with the newest GNOME 3.10, (the last of the Linuxhicans that comes with Gnome as standard desktop manager). A great visual experience and also easy to install extensions (Firefox is integrated with the Gnome Addons Site - One click installation).
Yum is the standard package manager and also a powerful one. From it, it's possible to install/remove/reinstall/purge and other tasks (similar to Debian's apt and ArchLinux's pacman). Fedora comes with a Softwares application, that is a GUI for Yum.
I'm testing the ARM Image of Fedora on Pandaboard, until now, no problems with it. The great part is that the Fedora for ARM is maintained by RedHat, and official updates come to it as soon as possible.
That's it for now. Hope you enjoyed! \o
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