I have Mint (Xfce) on one machine, but haven’t used it for awhile - my main distro is Xubuntu.
Do the other flavors of Mint (Cinnamon/MATE) have the panel (”tray” to the Windows users) at top by default? I know when I’ve tried diff distros sometimes it’s at the top by default. That might tend to be pesky for some people used to Windows.
Also, for burning a Mint/other Linux distros to USB - I’ve found these programs to be very good -
Universal USB Installer -
https://www.pendrivelinux.com/universal-usb-installer-easy-as-1-2-3
Rufus -
https://rufus.ie
There are more than a few Linux distros designed for people coming from Windows - tho, personally, I’d stay in the Mint/Ubuntu family tree.
There is a large variety of Linux distros, in general, to choose from, the overwhelming majority are free.
If someone’s is interested in giving one a test ride, they can narrow down what they might be looking for using the search page at DistroWatch.
https://distrowatch.com/search.php
This video may also be of interest -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eI7QQqnV1P8
The newer Mint Mate and Cinnamon have the bar at the bottom just like windows. And the “Menu” button is in the bottom left corner where the “start” button is in windows 7. And all the tools and applets are on the right bottom just like they are in windows, time/calendar, network connections, battery/power, Etc.. I highly recommend Mint Cinnamon for new users familiar with windows. The left/right button mouse controls and menus all work the exact same also.
And I think the Rufus stick builder could be the easiest to use, it worked fantastic for me so thanks for including that option!