I recommend Linux Mint with the default Gnome/Cinnamon desktop. I think it’s the most “Windows-like” (You can add other desktops later on without having to reinstall anything. KDE Plasma is really nice). The installer found all my hardware for me and set it up, including my network printer. It installed my nVidia drivers (even gave me a choice of several with a ‘Recommended’ one at the top).

The LibreOffice suite is already included, which should take care of your productivity needs. (It recognizes and can read/write MS-Office documents). Thunderbird will take care of your email needs.

There’s also a utility called TimeShift, which works like Windows System Restore. Since you’ll be making a lot of changes the first month or so, it’s a great way to undo any screw-ups. Make sure you create a Restore Point before you do any serious fiddling. Even if you make your system unbootable, you can boot from a Linux Mint flash drive and run TimeShift that way, too.

Gaming is awesome. Steam has a native linux client, which uses a version of Wine called Proton, which has all the settings needed to run your games. Basically, everything I bought on Steam under Windows, runs in Linux. (NOLF 1 was the only game I couldn’t get to completely work. No music, I think the game uses DirectPlay for music, which no games seem to use anymore).