I find LinuxMint to be my preferred distribution when it comes to Ubuntu based distro's, I even prefer it to Ubuntu itself, but I wouldn't say it was for beginners really.
Neither is Fedora, which can often require additional configuration beyond the capability of newer users.
Ubuntu does indeed get a lot of stick, but in terms of compatibility out of the box, very few distros come close, and it is considerably easier to navigate and "adapt" to than most are.
As most of us experienced realise, most people once they gain experience and understanding of how Linux works will usually move away from Ubuntu, but it can't be beaten for those wishing to be introduced to a easy transition from Windows - The difficulty of that is more often than not the reason so many people try it, and then never successfully move over to Linux; its just too much, too soon for some people.
Its for these reasons I specifically recommend Ubuntu Linux to those new to, or otherwise starting out in using Linux in general.