pivpn for wireguard setup:

• https://www.pivpn.io

newpipe and libretube for youtube:

• https://newpipe.net/
• https://libretube.dev/

And the entire Fossify app suite in Android:

• https://www.fossify.org/

scrcpy for connecting to my Android screen from my laptop:

• https://github.com/Genymobile/scrcpy

kde connect for general android/laptop connectivity:

• https://kdeconnect.kde.org/

I was a happy Ubuntu user for more than a decade and I agree that it’s a good beginners distro. I am now using Manjaro, which is also very good. In fact, Manjaro might even be more beginner friendly because it support Flatpak out of the box.