OK, here's my (current) top 5 distro's I use
Note- Slack-12.2 was 1st, but Ultimate-2.2 plays linux games
like windows!

1) Ultimate-Edition-2.2(based on Ubuntu-9.04) 2gb iso
http://ultimateedition.info/
awesome ability to play 3d games with my old GeForce MX4000 nVidia card including Planeshift(free)
http://www.planeshift.it/
has almost everything from repos

2) Slackware-12.2
Most stable Linux I've ever used
Best Linux for those who want to learn linux
not as hard as gentoo, not as easy as Ubuntu

3) Tinycore-2.0+
shots of dragon themed is tinycore
http://multidistro.com/tinycore-shots/tc-scrnshots.html
Loudest stereo with just OSS.tce, in my experience
Best small distro of all-time
current, lots of apps, lives frugally anywhere(usb,cd,hd)
Is the new DSL, made by Robert Shingledecker, creator of the MyDSL concepts

4) Sidux-2009-02-xfce 482mb edition
Just out today at distrowatch.com
debian-based but smaller
lives on usb/hd as frugal with persist
as frugal with sidux-rw
as full hd install too

5) BrowserPuppy49/RescuePuppy49(412 based)
browserpuppy is awesome puplet
frugal, has only minimal apps like firefox-3.5
flash10, best browsing linux period.

RescuePuppy49 is my re-master of browserpuppy
shot of rescuepuppy desktop
http://multidistro.com/tinycore-shots/tc-scrnshots.html
added testdisk, photorec, ddrescue, dvddisaster
xfprot anti-virus plus rescue stuff like memdisk
grub4dos, etc

So, please add your best 5 as this will certainly help those looking to try various distros

Your correlation with the Distrowatch "hit list" is non-existant. (I don't know the significance of that.....)

In no particular order:

Mepis: Current system, everything works, they stayed with KDE 3.5.x

Arch: Would be #1, if I could EVER get past a few basic issues.

Mint: The most user-friendly and nicely packaged distro I have ever seen

Slackware: If I could ever get past a LOT of basic issues. For one, I cannot grasp why they are opposed to dependency-checking package management. Not the 3rd-party things, mind you. I'm talking really good stuff like Synaptic (lot's of distros) and Pacman (Arch).

Zenwalk: Always liked the look and feel, turnkey XFCE setup, and a "reasonable" package manager.

What does that mean pixellany, and thanks, those are good choices
though I thought you might be a gentoo-type

Go to Distrowatch and look at the hit list. Your view of the world simply does not match theirs.......don't take it personally.....

I am the type of person who could have been a "Gentoo-type" if Linux had been invented at about the time of the IBM 36 keypunch........

Not to be off-topic, but I wrote a short* how-to, very easy for running newest sidux
from usb/hd persistent, etc and how-to install flash10+extrs, etc
and everytime I try to submit any how-to to the articles/tutorials section
it never gets added, and Xavier is too busy so what do I do?
Don't wanna post big post in general, etc
but I have a few gems and what do i do?

My top five:

Ubuntu 9.04 -- "Just works" (fine on my laptop.)
Debian Lenny - For the server (whatsoever that server might be.)
Fedora - It's cooler than CentOS and plays nice with corporate/enterprise networks
Gentoo Live - not sure why, but this is the only live distro I've got along with.
PartedMagic - For when Things get fubared or I want to prevent fubars.

Oh. I didn't get this until now:

foo bar = FUBAR. Of course.

My top 5...

1. Cross Linux from Scratch (CLFS) - because I'm weird and really like to tweak (and, of course, I'm a fan boy).
2. Gentoo - because you need a host system to build the initial CLFS and its easier to install Gentoo than to remaster the LFS LiveCD.
3. Linux from Scratch (LFS) - see #1, but no longer use it because I use CLFS.
4.
5.

Uuuummmm. OK, so I haven't really ever used anything else .

1-5 Debian

1: Slackware
2: Slackware64
3: Ubuntu
4: Debian
5: Possibly one I haven't tried yet. Then again, that may end up higher. Who knows?

Why? Why not??

anything that's based on Debian.
Mint, Mepis, Ultimate, Ubuntu, Debian !
( in no particular order)

<why> coz a .deb is easy to install ..

try the new Sidux-2009-02-xfce.iso pierre2, great little Debian for usb/hd
xfce edition 482mb

1. Slackware64-current

linus72,

Thanks for putting our distro on the top of your list, I hope you know who I am I found this post because my website tracks inbound links.

Thanks again,

TheeMahn

No doubt
I have been using Ultimate since 1.8!

Actually, it's the only 9.04 I've had that doesn't have an error after updating packages?

It's also the only Linux Period, that I have used
that can actually play 3d games natively, without wine, and my old nvidia mx4000

It basically has almost everything and is ubuntu thru and thru.

Awesome themes, etc too

I was testing all the "big" ubuntu's lately
including artistx, etc

None compare

I cannot imagine the work that must have gone into it.
It is my min Linux Laboratory


***One request though-

Anyway to cut a smaller Fluxbox-only version?

I was think ing of using remastersys
to make a fluxbox ultimate
with all the repo's available
just "lighter"
like maybe -700mb?

Also, i need a job in Linux TheeMahn
you hiring?

1. slackware - because it's the best
2. slackware64 - because I can, and slackware is the best
3. DeadRat, errh, RedHat, because it earns my bread
4. debian, because it's community driven and doesn't have a shuttleworth or jackasslopes
5. rip - always comes in handy