So at work I was encouraged to spend some money on a new laptop. We went to 'laptop as workstation' for all us tech types a couple years ago. I've been a ThinkPad guy for a long time, my most recent two being Lenovo branded ones, most recently a T420. As others have observed, there's been a slow, but perceptible decline in some of the qualities that made an IBM ThinkPad a bullet-proof "no brainer" purchase. In particular, since I'm a Linux guy from decades ago (yes, it's plural now), some of the latest models haven't always been as easy to install Linux on, getting all the special bits (sleep, sound, extra buttons, etc.) working correctly. My manager suggested going with a "boutique" supplier, someone who ships with Linux (in this case, Ubuntu) pre-installed. So that's what I did: System76, a Gazelle Professional. First thing I noticed - going from 14" to 15" is significant. Lost the lovely thinkpad keyboard  - grumbled  a lot about that. But wow, it's fast, and Ubuntu "just works".

About a year later -

I've done a major OS upgrade on this now. I've gotten reasonably happy with it. There are odd bits (the SD card slot leaves cards sticking waaay out - strange) but overall, happy with it.