There are a lot of linux distros to choose from. At first, it might be very confusing to choose one, but trust me you'll get what you need here!

Arch Linux

If you want a lightweight and smooth running distro, choose Arch. By default, there is no GUI in Arch. If you are experienced with linux servers, you can give it a shot!

Manjaro

You still want the lightweightness but not the hassle of running commands in terminal? You can get any Arch-based distro such as Manjaro.

Debian

The one made for programmers! Has the power of apt. Far more packages that Arch. But here's the catch! No GUI again. However, you still get the basic tools right built-in. And the cherry on the cake is, it is the most stable linux distro! It also has the best hardware support.

Zorin OS 16

A GUI approach would be Zorin, the OS that I use. Looks perfectly great! But beware! It is not completely open-source. You may also try Ubuntu, completely open-source.

Fedora

For the sys-admins out there. A great OS. But, it is more like Arch. Completely DIY. Neither as stable as Debian nor as unstable as Arch. A middle option. Here's a link to comparision between Debian and Fedore. Fedora vs Debian

Final Thoughts

I feel Debian works best for me. I use Zorin which is based on Ubuntu which is based on Debian. Very Complicated! But it works great. I switched to linux from Windows about a month ago and I was surprised by the looks of linux. Completely Unexpected! I feel it is actually better than Windows. But there are few reasons why Windows still exists on my computer. The biggest reason is MS Office. LibreOffice and OnlyOffice are nowhere close to MS Office.