T440p if you're comfortable upgrading it yourself. It's very easy to customize, parts are cheap, and it has a socketed CPU slot. You can buy upgrades for it like a i7 4900MQ, 2x8GB RAM, and a nice 1080p IPS display. It can also be Librebooted (you have to take it apart), and it has a SD card slot, CD tray, and a option to upgrade the standard keyboard to a backlit keyboard.

I've been using it everyday and could honestly use it for another 5-6 years and I'd be fine with it. I just do browsing, coding, etc.

I picked up a yoga 6 on sale from Lenovo three years ago for about $800. SSD + ryzen. Works perfect on linux, the only problem was a faulty fan replaced under warranty, since then been great, could probably find a used one for pretty cheap

My current personal laptop is a ThinkPad 13 2nd Gen. I believe it was released in 2017. It was my work laptop for 4 years and was gifted to me by the employer. During those 4 years as a work laptop it proved its worth---9 hours of teaching per day plugged into a projector. Once it was mine I slapped Linux on it. Today, the battery still lasts 10 hours.

So, definitely look into getting something used. You probably don't need the best of the best. If I had to choose right now I would rank my needs and try to get something close enough.

An i3 or equivalent might be fine, and i7 might be overkill. Something with an i5, perhaps? Lots of people say 8GB is the minimum for RAM, my computer has 6GB and works. But, if I were going to buy today I might take 16GB just as future-proofing. I would also need that USB-C.

Browse around sites like https://linux-hardware.org/ before purchasing to make sure you don't get any surprises.

Speaking of surprises, I would take anything with Nvidia just in case, and whatever model I take would need to be reparable or upgradable.

If you decide on buying new, you might as well take a look at the vendors mentioned by other users. System76, Slimbook, Framework, StarBook, and so on will hurt your wallet a bit, but at least you know the hardware won't result in time lost troubleshooting.

Can't beat an X230 with an i5 for that use case, and you can still find them for around 100 bucks. Swap in an X220 keyboard, maybe a new battery, coreboot it, and in my opinion you've got the perfect laptop. I've daily driven that setup for the last 5 years and it's been great.

https://youtu.be/3wCexOqw-h4

I'm a fan of the t14. However, the keyboard has increasingly gotten shit

i've had a t420 for years and it's still going strong

I bought a t460s i5 model with 20gb of RAM and replaced the second internal battery for a total of $180 in the US. Other than the screen not being the best (but I mostly work in terminal so it wasn't a big deal for me), it has been a great laptop with great battery life.

T480 or Framework

got a t450s for 100€ and its pretty amazing!

Gonna drop Novacustom/System76 here. Laptops with open firmware are key

I have been very happy with my X1 Extreme. I did have an issue with the keyboard and later the touchpad, but I paid for onsite support so it wasn’t a big deal. They came out a day later and fixed it right there at my dining table.

I would say buying a ThinkPad is worth it for their paid support options alone. When I had a keyboard problem on my old MacBook, AppleCare took like 10 days to fix it. Lenovo’s premium support is reasonably priced and they don’t mess around. A person picks up the phone when you call and they treat you like you are important. If it’s a hardware problem, they are not fucking around. They don’t care how it happened or ask a bunch of questions. It’s covered and they are fixing it. Fast.

The X1 is also super easy to work on. It’s easily disassembled with normal tools and upgradable parts like SSD and RAM are right there when you open it up. They don’t do dumb things like solder in the RAM or leave you without an open slot. This thing is designed to be repairable.

Linux support is flawless.