Debian

Debian is my operating system of choice at the moment for a desktop enviroment. It combines the out-of-the-box functionality of Ubuntu but without all of the clutter. The things I like about Debian that set it apart from the rest is the default Gnome 2 desktop environment (which really deserves its own post) as well as Apt (yes, apt). Now I'm sure the gurus started shaking their heads when I said Apt, but don't judge yet. Apt is easy to use, widely supported, and stable. The same is true for others like Pacman and Yum, and nothing is wrong with using those. Of course I still compile many of my tools from source, but Apt is just a way to get things done fast.

Debian Squeeze however may not be the optimal choice if you are installing on a laptop/netbook. If you are looking for a beautiful lightweight environment without lots of clutter, then I suggest Crunchbang Linux.

Crunchbang just looks beautiful. With its OpenBox window manager, it just works. It's also super fast, so for those under powered netbooks its perfect for increasing runtimes. Crunchbang, unlike pure Debian does take some knowing however. For beginners I suggest sticking with pure Debian (or Ubuntu, just don't get stuck on it) to begin with, and then moving on to try out other distros like crunchbang.

Well that's my bit, what about you? What's your distro of choice and why?