KDE Neon is great for me.

Linux Mint is great.

I’d say Linux Mint or Pop OS.

Otherwise, as other comments say, you can try Debian.

I’d go the other direction and choose Debian. It’s what Ubuntu is based on, and actually lives up to the spirit of FOSS.

what’s your reasoning behind ubuntu? Ease of use and maintenance? I’d argue rolling release distros that don’t require ppa’s or snaps are easier to maintain.

Arch has been amazing in my experience. In the last 5 years I’ve just rsynced my arch install to the 5 different desktop/media pcs across my house with zero issues.

If the DIY aspect of it is too much for you to handle (which really is only user required at install and the install guide is actually great and only requires you to read carefully to succeed) you can use something like endeavourOS that removes the arch install process and is still pretty close to arch. I’ve personally found arch (and endeavourOS but NOT manjaro) significantly easier and less annoying to maintain than ubuntu and even debian that I run on my servers.

Also, I have never used it but ArcoLinux is an arch based distro that has a lot of built in features that allow easy desktop environment switching and a lot more. The main guy (Erik Dubois) has a youtube channel and a real passion for teaching people. There is a wealth of information there.

Have you tried Arch?
You should try Arch.
It will be exactly what you make it.
It has great documentation and walkthroughs.
It’s got a cool name.
You get to say you run Arch.
Join us… cthulu ftaghn

I tried vanilla but didnt like it

Why?

Why does it have to be an Ubuntu derivate?

Just use Arch.

I’d try the search function of distrowatch and search based Ubuntu-base. IMO if you want gnome 44 you should stick with Ubuntu vanilla. But cinnamon Mint is better imo.