[icothtas]

Other Note: Don't even think about Ubuntu (or derivitives) (I find it to be unstable and bloated)

This is true if you are using the full desktop versions of Ubuntu, or just about any distribution, and if you're really anti-bloat, then a full desktop environment like Gnome, KDE, Unity, just isn't going to work. It's not even about the distribution, it's about what you're doing with it, and the differences beyond the DEs among distributions for millionandbell are not going to become apparent until they become necessary, so:

millionandbell: It's awesome that you've made the dive into Linux! I highly recommend at one point trying to go from a minimal CLI install, and installing everything manually: setting up X server, install a window manager like i3 (very easy to install and setup, after of course you've got X running fine), and configuring it all on your own. It's a very rewarding experience, though make sure you have another computer handy to look up how to do everything. If nothing else, start doing more in the terminal; and do it efficiently and well. There's always a way to do it through CLI. Good luck and like has been said before, if you have questions, you've got some very knowledgeable people in this forum that I'm sure will be glad to help.

Footnote: I dual boot OS X and Ubuntu Server 16.04 on my MacBook, Ubuntu Server is a pure CLI install (not even for a server, I just can never get the Desktop mini.iso to play nice with my MacBook) and I don't plan on setting up an X server or even installing i3, let alone ricing it. It's easy to install, and runs extremely well. To many, pretty much the only difference between distributions is their theme, in that when people mention how shitty Ubuntu is, they really mean that they hate the awful colors of Unity. Again, if one really wants a lightweight distribution, it's not terribly difficult to install x11-common or whatever package it is, then install i3. It can be even easier; install your standard full, Ubuntu desktop and then install i3 and just choose it at the login manager.