Except all those times where you learnt how to do something when you set it up years ago, and haven't touched it since because it just bloody works. Then when you need to upgrade to a new machine you have to learn it all again.

Been using Linux for thirty years and it still happens.

If you want a locked down PC you can't break, and to install all your software using a GUI, choose Bazzite. If you feel comfortable on the terminal, use CachyOS.

I'd say you're first job is to determine what you don't want. Google the differences between distros and pick the philosophy you like. Some have corporate backing, some favor stability, some stay cutting edge, some are more community developed, etc.

I started with Bazzite (Fedora) and switched to Garuda (Arch). What got me to each was researching "best gaming Linux" and later deciding I didn't want immutability.

I mainly just wanted it to work right out of the box, but now that I have it I also love that Arch is always keeping me up to date. There is still a lot of fear mongering about Arch, but Garuda was just as easy as Bazzite, which is recommended for beginners all the time.

I think Garuda is amazing, and recommend it wholeheartedly, but no matter what you choose there will be some learning curve, so pick something that sounds cool to you so you stay motivated to figure it out.

It's similar in that it has an application launcher at the bottom, a windows-like start menu, and aims to be simple.

Zorin has a modern UI where Mint is more windows-7-ish. They don't have the same file explorer, settings app, app store, generally the core apps are different.

Look they're quite different, it's hard to make a full comparison, just run a Mint .iso in gnome-boxes if you're curious.

Zorin is working out really well for me, esp on my older machines with slower processors and less RAM that choke a little on fuller distros. I enjoy the KDE Plasma distros, for example, but they're a little too heavy for my older boxes and I was getting a lot of video stutter and unexplained shutdows, etc. I don't get that with Zorin or Mint. For me Mint works just as well as Zorin and picks up all my hardware just as handily, it just feels a little basic for what I'm used to. But Zorin hits just right in every direction for my needs. It's a good distro for Windows noobs, that's for sure.