I've had problems finding a note taking suite that I could really buy into. There are a few I've used, they all have some pros and cons, but nothing stands out right now as the clear winner:
* Tomoby:
- pros: fast, good search, really liked local editing, integrates with quick launchers like Gnome DO and Albert which I found essential for quick references, especially programming and Linux commands which, when I want them, I want them NOW. type: "<ctrl>+<space>grep examples" and have a reference to my most frequently used patters in 1 sec is SO helpful.
- cons: sync/mobile solutions are hacky, no longer maintained, Ubuntu 19.04 removed it, not encrypted, Copy & paste to/from other apps (Thunderbird) doesn't work like you'd expect, formatting is not preserved.
* Evernote: meh...used it for a couple years. Liked multi-device support. Their web client wasn't that great and they didn't have a Linux client. I paid for it and put maybe 100 notes in it, but eventually stopped using it and converted back to the free version.
* Dropbox Paper:
- pros: nice editor, have the basics right, integrated with Dropbox which I already use, so no additional cost, good mobile client, really easy to share notes with groups of people (family) or one-offs to others with a link.
- cons: some bugs and bad UX still, no encryption (but Dropbox already has most of my files so I've already sold out a bit to them I guess), loading a browser tab is just slower than the Tomboy UX described above...I find I like using Paper for longer docs or things I'll access on mobile, but it's just not a good replacement for those quick notes that when I want them, I want them NOW!
I've tried a number of other ones over the years, never really found a sweet spot. I actually think something like Tomboy is really the best note taking app, but for it to really thrive, it would need better options for mobile and note sync than Tomboy ever had. Adding end-to-end encryption and sharing would also be great.