I just installed it on my son’s desktop with Cinnamon. It’s good enough for me. It’s the server OS I prefer to use so I’m most familiar with it. And has the same excellent software compatibility as Windows; Most tutorials assume Ubuntu.
Oh and I’ve been using Lubuntu for the past year on my road laptop. No issues.
Linux desktop is having so much positive changes happen to it. Something like Bazzite or Cachy is a significantly better experience for general desktop usage.
Also, most tutorials when we’re talking about desktop no longer assume Ubuntu.
There’s a reason steam decided to be based on arch for the steam deck.
I mean, you're the sysadmin, so I probably shouldn't explain things to you. But I spent 20 years with Ubuntu and recently switched to Debian. The tutorials work the same.
The disadvantage of Ubuntu is its weird mixture of apt and snap. The snaps self-update when they feel like it (eg when you're on a train, wasting your precious data). Debian uses apt for everything. It's a lot simpler and you have more control over it.
Oh and I’ve been using Lubuntu for the past year on my road laptop. No issues.
Good enough.