The main advantage is that in ChromeOS, things like Netflix and Hulu work at full resolution. And everything is touch optimized. Under Crostini, Linux apps are getting very well integrated.
Note, that there are still a few things that are in the works yet. I'm on the beta channel, and just got v74, which gives audio support to Linux apps. And 3d is still being worked out. (Audio in isn't in place yet though, for security reasons).
I also have a Thinkpad X1 Yoga, which so far has been 0 trouble with Linux (suspend/hibernate work as expected). The only thing that doesn't work is the fingerprint scanner. Thinkpads in general are fairly well supported, partly because many Red Hat developers carry thinkpads from what I've heard.
If you live in the US or Europe I'd recommend the US/UK Dell Outlet. You can get a Dell Latitude in great condition (often like-new condition) for a nice deal, especially when they have their laptop promotions. I've had a good experience with their onsite service as well.
For me the choice was based on the 3 button mouse, and the screen pitch.
What annoys me is that the only way to get the USA keyboard (for a UK purchase) was that the machine was procured in the USA.
This is one thing Apple get right - offering the USA keyboard layout in the UK market. That said, I don't like the feel of the current Macbook keyboards.
If you don't mind slightly dated HW and want the smoothest experience, I'd get a Purism Librem[1], the XPS line is known to be a solid choice as well, there's vendors like System76.
I personally have an ASUS ROG GL702ZC, which is a Ryzen/AMDGPU based workhorse laptop that works well out of the box.
I do have a spare ready to take over if needed. Old hardware could always die very suddenly. It's a frugal solution, both cheaper and more ecological than buying new.
The one that you own already and that's sitting in a closet because it won't run well using a "current" version of its stock OS. Chances are that it will work very well with Linux.
Thinkpads are definitely very well supported (at least, the high-end standard form-factor ones; I had an Helix, and the support was mediocre), and they would go first in my list of Linux-supported laptops.
The Dell XPS 13 was working very well, AFAIR. I can't remember/find though, if I had other ones.
Btw, Fedora drives the h/w.
I'm currently in the market for a laptop as well (I primarily use Linux), and an AMD APU seems like a perfect fit because they have 4 cores and pretty good graphics. I'm intrigued by the Thinkpad A485 because I love the Thinkpad line, but I've heard this particular line has throttling issues. The E485 doesn't have the throttling issues, but it doesn't have a big battery, so I may go for that and a battery backup.
The main issue I've had and seen with running Linux on a laptop has been wireless, but you can usually swap it out for an Intel WiFi chip, which usually work really well under Linux.
There is so much variation in available laptops, so you really need to decide what you want to do with it and then find a set of laptops that have the specs you want. Once you have a list, check reviews from Linux users to make sure there aren't any weird problems.
I've been a loyal Mac user for about 16 years - even used to run Yellow Dog Linux on my old PPC - but I've started migrating my family to the Dell XPS for their new laptops. From what I read, the new rubber components in the most recent laptops don't really fix the issue either. I'd stay away.
My only complaint with Ubuntu on the X1 is going to and waking from sleep is problematic for me. Sometime when I wake from sleep I have to do a hard reset (get frozen on the lock screen). Other times i successfully wake from sleep but the touchpad doesn't function 100%, mainly it won't allow me to two-finger scroll or click and drag.
So what I'm saying is that I'm not sure if the question is specific enough.
That said, any el cheapo laptop will run well, & a good SSD with a bit of ram is all I'd be looking for if I were buying new... or I'd go top-end & gorgeous, like a Lenovo.
I recently looked for a Linux-friendly laptop for development and general use. Linux compatibility, performance, and price were my motivators.
I ended up with a Dell Outlet XPS 15 for just under $1300, including 2-yr warranty.
Installed Pop OS, and after a few initial hiccups, I could not be happier. Best Linux OS I've used and the most powerful machine I've ever owned.
6-core 8th-gen i7-8750, 32GB RAM, GeForce GTX 1050 Ti, and 1TB SSD.
Couldn't find anything comparable anywhere else. I _highly_ recommend Pop OS, too.
If I we're looking for a full-time laptop, I'd seriously consider the latest Surface Pro, it's the right size+weight and many have worked to get Linux to run well on them. The 3:2 aspect ratio is awesome too--I can't stand 16:9 for dev unless it's 27".
Truly a first class experience.
Also, the 20 hour battery life is second to none.
Only issue I have is the nipple thing doesn't work after a wakeup even, but I don't use it so don't care.
And the "no hardware support for ACPI suspend" thing is common to a lot of newer mobile hardware - they call it "Connected Standby", so just be aware of that misfeature.
In addition to the sleep, the webcam is not supported at all, and the wifi driver is far from perfect.
An extremely annoying issue, although not relevant to Linux itself, is that the Fn key frequently disables itself, and there's no way to lock it (there was in the SP3). I've verified this on both a Surface Book and a Surface Book 2.