> letting you choose a degree of stability with one word

Debian Sid: the original rolling release distro.

I tried Debian before, but settled for Ubuntu LTS for their predictable release cycle and LTS support, combined with Debian's disadvantages of slow and irregular, and needing more tinkering to support my hardware.

Checking out Debian's release cycle, it seems like things have changed a lot. I need to give it another try.

In my case I won't notice a difference. I use Ubuntu LTS for the stability and LTS, and it seems Debian release cycle is also every two years.

Ubuntu LTS comes out every two years, and the x.1 release after the first six months is the point where it's as rock solid as it will be for the rest of the support cycle. Interim releases gave me too much trouble, because there's no stable x.1 for them, only a new release with new potential surprises.

IMO Ubuntu interim releases are the equivalent of Debian Testing, testing grounds to prepare for the next real^w stable release.

Unless you only use what's in the "main" section (which is surprising small, far more things are in "universe" than you'd expect), then you are getting the same software (or sometimes even older) than Debian.