For me it’s PeppermintOS.
I started my Linux adventure a few years ago, and haven’t owned a Windows PC since.
I currently use Arch on my main rig, and I wanted to install Linux on two old laptops that I found laying around in my house
I then remembered the first distro I ever used, which is PeppermintOS, and I was amazed at the latest updates they released.
They even have a mini ISO now to do a net-install with no bloat, with a Debian or Devuan base.
Sadly, I believe the founder passed away a few years ago, which is why I was really happy to see the continuation of this amazing project.
Pardus. A Debian-based distro with a lot of beginner-friendly tools and extensions that make running it almost an OOTB experience. And if you don’t like extensions, you can just select the vanilla Gnome layout from its layout switcher, which is kinda like the Zorin layout switcher, except it has 6 layouts that aren’t locked behind a paywall. And if you think it’s bloated, it actually REMOVES some weird and unnecessary apps that the default Debian comes with, like dictionaries, Thai terminals and other such nonsense.
I actually recommend it to newcomers over the likes of Ubuntu and Zorin.
One downside is that Flatpak is not pre-installed. In the previous version it could be installed from their own app store (which is IMO the best app store on any Debian-based distro), but for some reason it became unavailable in the latest version. Still, installing Flatpak manually is better than dealing with Snaps.
The old homegrown Pardus was really something special with its Kaptan system configuration tool and PiSi package manager.