Drivers is a big issue in my experience also, but the solutions usually have to do with kernel versions. For me, there is only really two distros worth mentioning, and which you choose depends on the time you have available and the needs you have. Ubuntu is the best for getting up and running fast, and finding the broadest set of applications. Arch linux is for when you are dabbling with new stuff or want to use new features of new apps that have not yet made it into the Ubuntu/Mint/Debian developer pool. If I had more time I would switch exclusively to Arch but this requires a lot of configuration that can be a real time-suck, and could be automated. Maybe someday when I have more time on my hands, I'll write a script that you feed a set of parameters and bam base configuration, network, bootloader, and base packages set up, and reboot and start customising.