good ubuntu based distro?

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.

I'd say Linux Mint or Pop OS.

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

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.

Linux Mint is great.

What didn't you like about plain Ubuntu?

I think that to answer that, we would need to know what about Mint, Pop_OS, Vanilla OS, and Nobara you didn't like.

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

how about UwUntu

What didn’t you like?

I need to upgrade my ubuntu 18.04 desktop to something now, as it is out of support.

Pop looked interesting, but I am definitely looking for recommendations. I would prefer to stay in the debian/ubuntu type dostro, as that is what I am most familiar with, and can't be bothered re learning!

Why did nobody mention Xubuntu?

I mean, if you don't like Ubuntu much and you can also use the terminal, maybe try out Debian? Packages are a little dated but if you are willing to live with it, it's a great experience. I have some unstable repos added to my install for newer packages, and its been a good experience with 0 issues so far. I mainly use the GUI and its also been easy to use and super stable, although I suppose Pop and Mint would still be easier.

It's not exactly Ubuntu based, but its worth a shot.

Give Kubuntu a try. It is my favorite so far. It uses the plasma desktop though.

Not Ubuntu-based, but I saw a friend who's mainly a Mac user comment well about Endless OS, which is Debian-based (so Ubuntu's cousin). Maybe worth checking out?

There are a few good Ubuntu-based distros that I can recommend, but more information about what you're looking for would be helpful.

Why didn't you like vanilla Ubuntu? Was there anything you liked about it? Is there a specific reason you're set on Ubuntu-based?

Nobara is Fedora based afaik. I guess you didn't like the Desktop Environment (the look and feel, user interface), not the OS in it's functionality, since all of the distro based work basically the same under the hood.

So: I suggest you to try different DEs, not different OSs. You could try Gnome, KDE, XFCE, i3, there are a lot.

If you still want to stick with distro hopping, then i suggest you these good-looking distros, Ubuntu based:

ZorinOS: looks and feels very similar to windowz

DeepinOS: Very good looking DE

ElementaryOS: kinda looks like MacOS, lacks some software from its store tho

Bonus - Linux Mint Debian Edition (LMDE)

KDE Neon is great for me.

FerenOS is an Ubuntu based distro, kind of like a KDE Ubuntu Linux Mint. It's having a new release next month.

Truth be told, the "good-est" one will be the one you like best....

If you want others' random opinions try review sites like those provided below:

https://www.google.com/search?q=best+ubuntu+distros

For easy setup and a choice between Plasma and Gnome, I'm partial to Manjaro. Its pretty lightweight pleasant to use, only change from Ubuntu is that it doesn't use the apt package manager, but its an easy switch.

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.

I tried vanilla but didnt like it

Why?

Why does it have to be an Ubuntu derivate?

Just use Arch.

Arch