Hey guys, I'm looking for a distribution to fit my needs, I hope you can help me:
It has to fit the following criteria

- It's gotta look awesome, and by awesome I mean something like this:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped.../Moonlight.png
http://www.kde.org/announcements/4.1...ts/desktop.png
- I don't really care about the desktop environment too much, as long as it looks good
- I want it to be completely configurable, which means, that when I run it the first time, there is no single application installed (except for a desktop environment, I absolutely do not want anything that could be classified as bloatware
- Lightweight would be cool, that doesn't mean that it has to be the smallest distro on earth, but I don't really want it packed with stuff I don't need
- I'm gonna use it on a 4 year old Pc, mainly for Internet, Gaming, Music, Working, typical home-pc so to speak.
- Would also be cool if it was rather beginner-friendly. Arch-Linux is nothing I couldn't handle, but i really want no big hassle.

To give you an idea of what I'm talking about, those are the kind of distributions I'd say are about what I'm looking for:

Lubuntu
+ Small
+ Fast
- Too much crap preinstalled
- No fan of lxde

Bodhi-Linux (Haven't tried it yet, but I think it might fit what I'm looking for)

Arch-Linux (Needs a lot of knowledge, hard to get into as a beginner)
+ completely self-configurable
+ No stuff installed I don't need
- Hard to get in to as a beginner

If you guys have any other alternatives in mind - I'd be happy to hear them, thanks for your help =)

You could use, for example, Debian and not choose to install a desktop environment during install. Then you could install whichever desktop environment you like.
However, the packages for most desktop environments in the package-managed systems I've come across will install things like a web browser, a couple of office applications and some other applications -- you won't find a package-managed distribution where "when I run it the first time, there is no single application installed ".
Your only choice if you must have it exactly as you state is something like Slackware and even then you will have to do something other than "normal" installation of a desktop environment.
As for gaming, I'm sure you know this already but whilst it is possible to run Windows games under Linux using Wine or PLayOnLinux many do not work. Gaming is possible on Linux, but don't expect to be able to play any old game on Linux.
For light weight but with desktop environment already present you could try out Puppy -- it comes as a live D or USB so you can try it out and if you like it it can be installed to hard drive. I tried it briefly recently and it looked pretty good to me.

You could install something like Fedora (or another distro which allows you to select packages during installation) and then deselect every package you don't want so that you have a very minimal installation and build up from that. And even if it doesn't have the desktop environment you want by default you can always install one later.

To be honest i think you've already mentioned a distro that would suit you - Arch linux. Arch doesn't compromise on "bloat-ware", i get the feeling that it is the most important requirement you. Only thing that's missing is from the list of requirments that it isnt beginner friendly. Arch has amazing wiki pages that will guide through most things. I find that distros like Arch or Debian while not being the easiest, usually have really good documentation. On the other hand, smaller niche distros will not have many developers and the documentation isn't complete so it becomes harder to resolve problems.
I agree with 273 - unless we are talking indie or classic FPS games, best platform to run commercial titles is windows or consoles. It is lots of fun getting windows games in wine but only as testing/hacking project, for accual gaming i would always reboot to windows.

Welcome to the forums!

I think your best bet, given your stated criteria, is to perform a "minimal install" of Ubuntu and then install your favorite desktop environment and applications. Here are a couple of helpful links:

http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/minimal
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/In...tion/MinimalCD

However, there is one misconception in your original post that I would urge you to reconsider: the concept of "bloatware" doesn't really apply to Linux. There are two ways for a consumer to install Linux on his/her computer. The first is a "minimal install." This is the default for Arch Linux and is available as an option for Ubuntu and many others. The second way is a "distribution" (or "distro") which is defined as a bundle of software that the typical user can easily install and then start using their computer immediately. While it is true that distros like Lubuntu, Fedora, etc. contain some applications that you'll probably never use (for example I have good eyesight so I don't need the accessibility features) it is important to let go of the Windows mentality that these apps are "bloat." Unlike Windows, having a few superfluous apps will not slow down your computer or make it crash. There is no benefit to removing apps you don't use. In fact, for a beginner user, there is a chance you will break your system by accidentally removing something that you didn't think was necessary, but actually was.

In short: The vast majority of Linux users choose to install a "distribution" as the easiest, fastest way to get started with Linux. Since you are a beginner I recommend you do the same; maybe when you have more experience you might try a "minimal install" as a fun project. But if you are expecting Lubuntu to run faster if you remove the "bloatware" (your word, not mine) such as the Osmo calendar or Pidgin client, guess what: it won't make any difference. There is no "registry" in Linux, and apps are only loaded into RAM when you execute them.

snowpine makes a good point. I have been known to uninstall some of the default applications in XFCE and Gnome but only to try to save disk space on a netbook and even then the saving is usually minimal.

Thanks a lot for your answers, differenciating (is that a word?) between distribution and minimal installs makes sense to me.

The thing with not wanting progams on my computer that I don't use, is just a personal tick. I do realize that it really doesn't matter, yet it drives me mad in the back of my head, knowing that I have stuff on there that I don't even need.

Are there by any chance other distributions that offer
- a minimal install (like the minimal version of ubuntu you just posted)
- a rolling release system
- Kde or e17 (I think I'm gonna stick with either of those)

Thanks for all your answers and ideas guys, really appreciated it

You've just described Arch.

I know xD but Arch is just so hard to get into. I'm running Arch right now with KDE, but... so much work... isn't there anything like it just much easier? xD

What do you mean exactly by "so much work"?

Back when I ran Arch, all I did was:

once a week.

Arch was one of the easiest-to-maintain distros I've ever used (especially over a long period of time compared with a 6-month-release distro) and I only left because I don't need a "rolling release" distro for my purposes. If you have already installed Arch and set up KDE, then the hard part is over.

Hm... I haven't really seen it from that angle, but you do have a point there. I just found it a little frustrating, that whenever I have a problem, I take a look at the Arch-Wiki and do whatever it says there, but really wouldn't know how to help myself if I couldn't copy everything from somewhere, if you know what I mean.

Arch Wiki is possibly the best of any distro, I'll grant you that. Personally I consider that a "feature, not a bug."

Mh, I've just discovered Chakra

- half-rolling release system
- Based on Arch
- Supposed to be a lot easier than arch
- Uses KDE
- Offers a minimal install

Have any of you used it so far? Giving it a try sure can't hurt, if I don't like it I can still stick with Arch.

while solid, Chakra is missing one of the biggest bonuses of using arch, it's vast AUR community repo. Although it could be argued that it's quality vs quantity
http://aur.archlinux.org/
http://chakra-linux.org/ccr/