The differences in those Linux Mint versions are referring to what is called a "Desktop Environment", which is essentially what your UI might look like. There's a lot of them to choose from, such as KDE, GNOME, or XFCE, to name a few. I'm personally quite fond of Ubuntu MATE, as well as Mint Cinnamon, and they both tend to be my go to suggestions for anybody looking to get into Linux for the first time. Arch is nice for somebody who is already experienced with Linux, but you need to be well familiar with command line before even attempting it. .