[Kevmo]

Which distro has the best support base? When I was on ubuntu, a couple of problems reared their head but the community was pretty good about addressing it.

Also, I no longer use computers with DVD/CD drives, so the install would need to be across a USB stick.

[ShadowAce]

I, personally, have little experience with community-based support. I can usually figure out my issues on my own.

Just about all distros can be installed via USB. I cannot think of any that require a CD/DVD.

[Semper Vigilantis]

PCLinuxOS (PCLOS) has excellent support and a monthly magazine.
I have been using it since 2007. Started in KDE, switched to XFCE for a while, back to KDE (plasma), currently on Trinity (KDE 4) but am building a new box with the latest PCLOS KDE version.

http://www.pclinuxos.com/

[TomGuy]

Also, I no longer use computers with DVD/CD drives, so the install would need to be across a USB stick.

Most .iso files can be made bootable via USB stick. One program (I have not used it, however) is Rufus, a Windows utility to create bootable USB flash drives.

[gracefullyparanoid]

Ubuntu has a very good support base and generally on their forums you get good answers when you have a problem.

Pretty much any distro can be installed by USB stick. The really nice thing is that you can try any distro running it off the USB to see how it functions on your computer.