I have been using *nix likes for quite a long time, and used almost all the major Linux distributions. In the early days i experimented with Slackware and derivatives. Then after sometime i realized that, there is almost nothing new coming from this line, so i switched to Debian.
I was overwhelmed by the community, even more knowing how vast is the package repository. Debian is by far more flexible than Slackware, and some of the most loved distros like Ubuntu, Linux Mint are derived from this. I used Ubuntu for quite a long time, then i learned about Red Hat.
Red Hat and CentOS were far superior than Ubuntu (But please DON'T include Debian to that) due to support and stability (probably someone will argue on this but this is my own view) BUT CentOS had some drawback, it's package universe is small compared to Debian, BUT AGAIN in Red Hat' ecosystem there are some PLUS points.
As far as i know & up-to my understanding Red Hat / CentOS is downstream of Fedora Project which is (almost) on the cutting edge of Linux technology (you might be aware of the fact that, i also try to contribute to this 😁 project), BUT it has some drawbacks (according to me), it is said that Fedora Project would stop to further develop 32-bit versioned (i386, i686) release, Fedora 30 was the last to do so. BUT now what??? what would be the future for my love of 32-bit distro??? (it also means that most of the people running on old hardware just like me had to look for another option).
There are countless Linux distributions but finding best fit for your needs and taste is impossible. So, you probably install your desired packages to your extent or create your own distro from scratch 😃. The last option i liked the most because i don't have to rely on someone else to create it for me (to some extent of course) the major drawback of customizing someone else' distro is 'What if they also discontinue?' 'What if they also stop supporting some architecture?' et cetera. BUT again these are PLANS or Daydreaming, i have to look again for better options, probably.
Shehroz
Shehroz