KDEeeeee. It can be configured to work in my way, so I don't have to change my habits.
Now mod me.
Nothing until I need it so usually gnome with just perfection. I'd prob be a good candidate for window managers but have yet to get round to setting one up
Solus Budgie
I tried Solus OS when it first arrived and it was in its first releases and I absolutely loved it. It felt very stable and well made. How do you feel it handles Qt and GTK apps?
I have liked Gnome.
Depends on the device. I have my custom desktop rices here: https://sopuli.xyz/post/1516215
Personally, I really like Cinnamon. However, it doesn't support Wayland, and the laptops I have that aren't powerful enough to handle Wayland are also not powerful enough to handle Cinnamon.
Personally I use Mate, and I set it up to mimic the feel of Windows 95/98 as much as possible. I like a UI that doesn't get in my way.
I've been issuing Budgie for years now and really like it.
Lxqt - desktop environment
I3 - window manager.
Not super pleased with Lxqt but it's good enough.
KDE all the way, it even got the higly coveted SO-approval factor. My SO can actually use their linux computer with KDE.
I run Linux on an old Surface Pro 3. I prefer Gnome, because it works very well on a touchscreen device, especially one with an OS key on it
Hyprland. Add catppuccin and a simple and clean eww bar (also in catppuccin), and you've got the cutest and most optimized (navigation wise) setup (subjective, I just like tiling wms and catppuccin)
We need unixporn
TDE. It does what a desktop environment should do and stays out of my way, while offering a more-than-sufficient assortment of built-in software when I need it.
Currently I've gone back to Linux after having some issues with Windows that I can't get past so I've tried KDE at first because Plasma was cool back in the day. But it felt too buggy, lack of getting things feeling "dynamic" and animated as I like it.
So I moved over to Gnome and have been loving it. Since I'm also on a laptop it's been working even better. There's a few things I dislike in terms of how things work. Sometimes Gnome feels forced, like you have to make things work the way Gnome intended. Notifications are always an annoyance too and how they work.
I try to make things the way I want with extensions however, Dash to Panel, ArcMenu and a few others.
Even with its shortcommings it does feel like a more dynamic and animated experience that I like, I do enjoy rounded corners and such too so it feels nice. The development is active and open so hopefully it becomes better. Feels a lot more stable than KDE too which is a cherry on-top!
KDE for sure. I do like Gnome's minimalist design, but the lack of customizability kills it for me
KDE or Gnome with 18 extensions are my favourites