I used Ubuntu for several years, until they went with the Unity Desktop, which I hate.
If you are a Linux noob instead of of Ubuntu have a look at Linux Mint, which is still debian Ubuntu under the hood. Below is the list of distro I like for making the transition from Windoze.
Zorin OS (Debian)
http://zorin-os.com/Manjaro (Arch)
http://manjaro.org/I am running Manjaro on a VM and really liking it, but If you want have a more Windows like desktop Manjaro has a very simple clean UI and is very easy to use. I am anout to add it as a dual boot on my Windows PC. Zorin is the most polished of them all.
Running a live boot cd or a virtual machine to test various flavors of linux is a very good idea. VirtualBox is a free program that is free and simple to use and try several distros, till you find one you like.