We'll see how much longer I use this setup. I've gravitated towards it lately because I have it installed on my desktop, which despite being 5 years old is still faster than my 16" MBP.
If a compelling iMac or xMac gets released in the next year or two then my desktop may end up going back to live in the closet.
Mint MATE.
Otherwise: Debian Testing with MATE Desktop
Mint packages are not as out of date as ubuntu has been, Mate offers me a better desktop UI than gnome and lighter weight than Cinnamon. Still has awesome community support.
- Well integrated with my System 76 laptop.
- Never a problem with drivers, wifi, bluetooth, etc. It all just works.
- Good looking, out of the "box".
- Good availability of packages.
- Never had a problem with package upgrades.
- Excellent support from System 76 (although that's not a property of the distro).