I second the Debian recommendation, with one caveat: if ever you need to install software that is not maintained by Debian (I.e. it is installed using a command like make install instead of apt install) then you could run into significant problems.
Debian uses a system (called APT) to manage the logistics of all your apps and libraries. This is wonderful until you add a program using a different method that APT doesn’t know about. In that case you can “end up in dependency hell” where your system can no longer update or install new packages.
Advanced users can work around this limitation to install things safely, but for a user just starting out I suggest to only ever install packages that exist in the Debian repositories (that is, can be installed with APT or one of its various frontends). This can mean the programs are a little outdated or not available.
Debian has a document that explains this in greater detail, which I suggest every Debian user reads: Don’t Break Debian
Zos_Kia@jlai.lu 3 days ago
I feel GUIs complicate everything. You need graphics drivers and a display server and a compositor and a window manager etc… it’s a pain and in the end you still have to open a console to type in commands for your actual self hosting. Not worth the effort in my opinion, and it’s better to bite the bullet and get used to the terminal and ssh early.
I recommend using something like tmux or screen, so you still have basic comforts like tabs and multi task. Once you get used to it you can configure it and add themes and plugins if you like. A modern tmux setup really feels like a desktop except everything is faster and it barely consumes any resources.