My suggestion would be to first give Ubuntu-based distributions a try, like Linux Mint, Pop!_OS, or KDE neon. If there's still too much Ubuntu weirdness for you

My suggestion would be to first give Ubuntu-based distributions a try, like Linux Mint, Pop!_OS, or KDE neon. If there's still too much Ubuntu weirdness for your liking, try Debian. And if that doesn't satisfy your desktop needs, give Fedora a try. All of these provide good out-of-the-box experience.