What linux distro should I choose?
 

I am somewhat new to linux but I am good with computer and can learn fast so difficulty level doesn't really matter I just need an all around good fast nice looking linux distro.

Any ideas? Please tell me why I should try that version of linux.

I would recommend either Ubuntu, or Linux Mint. Both require very little tweaking, Linux Mint in particular, as it comes preloaded with many necessary codecs. Also, both of these have a TON of software available for them, as opposed to non-Debian-based distros.

I am currently running ubuntu. What is the best version of it? 10.10?

One more vote for LinuxMint. I'm a Mint 10 user for about few months now and I'll never go back to ubuntu again. Also, IMO the latest Gnome Mint is the best looking distro on the market right now. Go for Mint.

Depends on what you want to achieve. If you want a version with a longer support cycle then 10.04 LTS would be the best. If you don't care to reinstall more often (the update to a newer release can be somewhat buggy in Ubuntu), then 10.10 would be better. If you actually can wait a few days more, on April 28th 11.04 will be released.

10.10 is the latest version of Ubuntu, although a newer version will be coming out in about 5 days. I'm running Linux Mint 10, which is a derivative of Ubuntu 10.10, and I think 10.10's great.

11.04, the next release, however, has a major shift in desktop environment, from GNOME to Unity, so there are probably going to be a lot of complaining about it. It's supposed to be buggy, and not as capable as GNOME.

Linux Mint is sticking with GNOME, so unless Unity gets incredible reviews, and I mean incredible, I'll be sticking with GNOME, as well, and I recommend that you should too.

@the OP: My Mint 10 (Julia) 64-bit if you're curious about the looks and stuff.

Tell us what you like about Ubuntu 10.10, and what you don't like.

If it's working OK for your needs, there is no reason to switch in my opinion. :)

Well I just like how its stable and has gnome 2. Should I go with 10.04 lts or just use 10.10? I also really like ubuntu for how the layout at the top is like(Applications, Places, System.)

Everything you see on ubuntu you can immediately have on Mint without any trouble. Mint is fast as hell, much easier to work with than any distro I've tried and it's the best choice for a beginner (like myself).

Faster than ubuntu? Because I love the look of ubuntu but don't want to spend an hour with mint getting it to look like ubuntu if I can just use ubuntu.

So now it is down to ubuntu or mint. Which one should I choose?

Try both and look which one you like better. Both distros have live-CDs, so you can try them before installing.

Why would you go through the trouble of switching to a 6-month older release if you like everything about 10.10? I don't understand the question. :)

IF
"difficulty level doesn't really matter " and you want to learn linux
go with slackware , arch or gentoo linux these small and fast full distros
if you want to get your hands in it up to your elbows
then linux from scratch there is no better way to learn linux still small and fast
BUT with these distros you should be prepared to reinstalled should you mess up badly
before you learn how linux works

IF you just want the easiest linux the closest to windbloz and you feel you need training wheels then go with you-bum-too
personally I hate it when the computer tries to protect me from myself hence my distaine
for you-bum-too
the biggest down side to you-bum-too is the distro is so intent on protecting you from
yourself that it's hard to do any work on the system it self like installing software from source