I'm up to the W series(2008-2015) with a W530 running 2.7GHz 8x core i7 with 16 GiB of RAM and it just screams with Kubuntu 20.04, latest Long Term Support release. The upgrade path to something a little newer would be the P series(2015 to present), also a business series. P50 series, 50, 51, 52 etc is what I would choose.
X series is a good one too and is high performance but not business. Off lease business models can be found on ebay, with or without a HDD, with HDD wiped or wiped and then freshly installed with whatever version of Windows it came with. The original version of Windows with a legible COA sticker is preferred. No problems activating Windows that way. Then add Linux and do the dual boot setup.
Dell business models are another option and like the Thinkpad, some models did come with Linux pre-installed. With laptops being as powerful as they've become, I have no use for a tower taking up space.
Paid $325 for this W530 and see no reason to upgrade anytime soon. Ebay results for parts lists over 500 items. LCD/LED displays, OEM batteries and keyboards are available as new parts. Everything else is available used. Universal stuff like HDDs and RAM would be available as new of course.
It comes with Linux preinstalled, as they are designed from the ground up to run Linux.
But they are kinda pricey. I tend to keep laptops for ~10 years at a time, though, so it evens out in the end.