I was a *huge* fan of Linux Mint from my introduction to it around version 14 through version 17. But then, in 17.1 they consumed the "systemd" kool-aid along with the upstream distribution. There is no valid argument to support the feature creep and invasive nature of systemd. The folks at RedHat are putting a microkernel on top of the kernel to position themselves as the arbiter of all system input and output. Systemd is big brother and I don't trust it. So ... after much looking around I switched to PCLinuxOS (
http://www.pclinuxos.com/). And I haven't looked back. It is 9/10's of the polish of Linux Mint without the systemd cancer. I highly recommend the Mate desktop version.