Let's be real Sup Forums, if we want Linux to succeed as a desktop OS, if we want the year of the Linux desktop to actually happen, we need to unify behind a distro to stop confusing and scaring newfriends.
Since a DE isn't as important because it can be changed any time after installation I'm thinking we disregard that completely and just focus on sorting out the best beginner distro first. Which DE a person may like is subjective and it's wrong to judge a distro based on the DE which can be changed extremely easily.
Hopefully thanks to this, next time we get a newfriend asking about which Distro is the best for beginners we'll have much less confusion and spam.
Part of the reason why Linux is struggling to gain popularity as a desktop OS is that it's too fragmented and there's simply too much choice, and for someone who doesn't know any better, for someone who will come here for advice, we shouldn't frighten them away by bickering amongst ourselves.
Post your distro below, explain why you think it's best, and other anons may debate with you over why it's a good choice or not.