I've been internally debating about what kind of distribution to dual boot with Windows 7. The distros that I have used are Ubuntu and CrunchBang, and I've been looking at Linux Mint. I know that Mint has a lot of users and that it's generally regarded as more user-friendly than Ubuntu due to MATE. I would appreciate a more user-friendly interface over minimalism. On this distro I'll be gaming, editing video, recording gameplay, editing audio, and browsing the web.
If you have to ask, choose Ubuntu. Ubuntu is far and away the most accessible to Linux newbies. The Xubuntu and Kubuntu variants are actually better, though. However, if you're wanting to move beyond Ubuntu, there are many options. Arch, Slackware and Gentoo are three common enthusiast destinations. Fedora, OpenSUSE and Debian itself are common moderately-involved choices. Zealotry aside, there is no one be-all end-all distribution, so it may be wise to try a few before settling on one. DistroWatch may also be useful.
there is no one be-all end-all distribution,
This is why I included what I would be using it for. I tried Ubuntu and didn't like it, it felt much too bloated to me and Unity is really terrible in my opinion.
Arch, Slackware and Gentoo are three common enthusiast destinations. Fedora, OpenSUSE and Debian itself are common moderately-involved choices.
Thanks for these recommendations, I'll take a look at them on DistroWatch.
Even if you do not choose to use arch, please take a look at the wiki. I found it to be one of the better linux wikis out there.
The Xubuntu and Kubuntu variants, I also recommend. They don't have the hideous and nigh-unusable "Unity" desktop interface that Ubuntu introduced as a default a few years later.
Linux Mint is great for beginners. IMO it's better than Ubuntu but still retains compatibility with most things concerning Ubuntu. Some people have recommended ElementaryOS but in my experience it's not as polished as Linux Mint. Arch, Slackware, and Gentoo are only appropriate if you either know what you're doing, or don't mind being occasionally interrupted by a "learning experience" ;) If you want a Fedora-based distribution in the spirit of Ubuntu check out Kororaa, but I have to say I can't recommend it due to Fedora's terrible package manager.
I would recommend elementary OS linux. It is based on Ubuntu and has a really gorgeous interface and is pretty user friendly. I would definitely recommend you to try it once on Live CD. It is one of the few distros I have seen which has put in a lot of effort to make the interface lovely and easy to use. Check out their website http://elementaryos.org/
Linux Mint it's very good for new guys on #linux A very good looking distro is elementary OS, it kinda looks like OS X, and it's based on #ubuntu so it will be a nice transition for you.
I'd recommend an Ubuntu spinoff. Ubuntu itself is very bloated with its Unity desktop, but the spinoffs are much better * Kubuntu - runs the KDE desktop which is a slick and full-featured desktop with lots of fancy animations * Xubuntu - runs the XFCE desktop which is better for lower-powered machines but still runs AWESOMELY on newer computers, and I like the clean look of the desktop. * Lubuntu - If you have a newer computer, you probably don't want this. This runs the LXDE desktop which is REALLY lightweight, but is very barebones. All Ubuntu software and some Debian software will work on all of these.
What kinds of games do you play? Usually the recommended route for gaming in Linux is to run your games under Wine, but in my current setup I just have Windows 7 on dual boot with Arch Linux (which is where I'm currently typing this) like you to avoid the hassle. I have been hopping from distro to distro for about a year now and in my experience the distro you pick doesn't really matter that much if you aren't the type of guy who likes to tinker with stuff under the hood. But if you are, then I would recommend Arch Linux. Besides all the bells and whistles (or rather the lack thereof -- I am extremely bloat-allergic and so I have been known to do a complete reinstall of Windows every 6 months), it puts complete responsibility on you as a user to know what you're doing. Because of that, if you screw up then you know that it's all your fault. Do you know how to use a terminal? One of the best things I ever did for myself was to sit down and attempt to crack open that esoteric bugabeast. If you don't, here's a nice tutorial. Once you go full Linux, that little black box blinking at you is going to be your best friend. If anything you should at least learn how to use it so that you'll have an idea of what to do when you accidentally bork your system. Also it's a good way to immerse yourself in the Unix Way so there's that.
If you like minimalism and your machine is of a certain age, look up Puppy linux.
Crunchbang is a personal favorite, but Gnome 3 Ubuntu sounds like it'd be up your alley.
Ubuntu is really user friendly. From you you need I would say Ubuntu Studio is the one for you. Its Ubuntu, but it comes with a screen recorder, audacity, ardour, blender, wine (lets you run windows programs) pre install. That list barely scrapes the surface. Edit: link