[Cialug] Well "put together" Linux distros?

[Nicolai]

Hey all,

I'm looking for a clean, light, and well "put together" Linux distro that
doesn't change its startup scripts, paths, and so on.  Something stable
in that regard.  Very few symlinks and no symlink chains.

I've played with Debian but am definitely open to others.

Ubuntu should be at the opposite end of the spectrum.  What do you
recommend and why?

Nicolai