I have installed ubuntu recently on old and new hardware and had very little hardware problems. (I like KDE: Kubuntu) The most frustrating thing is kernel upgrades jacking up display drivers or the grub boot loader. All fixable but require patience.
For installing apps: SNAP is CRAP... I suggest Installing apps using apt repositories or binary files (built from source when you can!)
Tails is great if your objective is to run tor and a proxy, otherwise will not be a very good experience.