Best distro to use as base?

[eado]

Is there any distro with the ease-of-use of ubuntu (and it's derivatives) where I can just install what I want, but still has good and easy package management and already has the needed dependencies?

[zenwalker]

Is there any distro with the ease-of-use of ubuntu (and it's derivatives) where I can just install what I want, but still has good and easy package management and already has the needed dependencies?

I take it you mean "dependency resolution capability" in your last two words!
You may wish to try antiX-M8.5-base-i686 as a good example of a Debian-based minimal distro.
There are others, of course, including Debian net install. For ease of use and support, antiX is a good place to start looking.

As you probably know, ubuntu is derived from Debian, which is renowned for its repositories and its dependency-resolution capabilities. Get to know apt-get, it's easy and efficient. You'll be glad you did in the long run!

[sgosnell]

Look at Linux Mint Debian Edition, or if you don't like Debian, Linux Mint, which is a tweaked version of Ubuntu. I like LMDE, which combines working 'out of the box' with the largest repositories extant. It may have more packages installed by default than you want, in which case the Debian net install mentioned would be a good place to start.

[reed9]

Is there any distro with the ease-of-use of ubuntu (and it's derivatives) where I can just install what I want, but still has good and easy package management and already has the needed dependencies?

You can use Ubuntu as your base. There are a couple of tools for quickly creating your own customized Ubuntu spin.

https://projects.lumentica.com/proje...nstructor/wiki
UCK - Ubuntu Customization Kit

There is also Suse Studio.