I have made a lot of user switch to Linux. My first recommendation will be either Ubuntu or Mint. I have tried many distros over the time and I liked Arch Linu

I have made a lot of user switch to Linux. My first recommendation will be either Ubuntu or Mint. I have tried many distros over the time and I liked Arch Linux for quite some time. But the problem was reliability. I spend my productive time fixing an issue or trying to isolate the issue or fixing PKGBUID to install a package. Ubuntu on the other hand was my backup in case Arch crashed. My Linux experience can be titled 'From Ubuntu to Ubuntu'. Now I believe using a stable distro is really productive unless you have lots of time in your hand. I like Ubuntu except the Unity part. No problem. Install Xfce and live happily.