Linux

EndeavorOS. It’s based on arch which has great nvidia driver packages if that's your thing and the arch wiki is amazing.

A nice package manager wrapper is bundled. Do yay \ to search for any package and install it; do yay (nothing else) to upgrade everything, and yay -Rcns \ to remove stuff and all their unused dependencies. I also recommend chaoticAUR which is also easy to setup. What is the AUR, you ask? A repository for user-created ways to install TONS of stuff, think homebrew (including cask, unseparated) but on Linux

For the DE I recommend MATE but you can select any of the major ones in the installer
Get synapse for a spotlight-like search; it uses the alt+space keybind by default

It's probably been said, but Ubuntu or one of its variants is really the easiest way to go. Canonical has devoted a great deal of effort to making things easy and intuitive, and a complete novice should be able to get a fully functional system set up within 15 minutes.

I use Fedora Silverblue personally (feels rock-solid and borderline impossible to mess up), but you might want to get more familiar with the basics before getting into immutable distros. I'd echo what everyone else is saying and do Linux Mint first

Relax, Microsoft will eventually fix Windows 11, release a decent Windows 12 or extend the support for Windows 10 for so long you won't be needing Linux anytime soon. :P

My recommendation goes for Debian and install all your software using Flatpak. This way you can get a rock solid OS and all the latest software. Ubuntu might be interesting as it is mostly beginner friendly and has a more cohesive all-in-one solution ou of the box.

Fedora Silverblue if your wanting security and a "it just works" experience.

Linux Mint Debian Edition if you want stability and a traditional/familiar environment.

Vanilla OS Orchid should be a nice in-between once it releases.

Kde plasma if you game

Anyone got love for Budgie?

Do it now

If history repeats itself Windows 10 is not going to die until the next good Windows floods the market

Mint 💯

Linux mint hands down