try debian - mint and ubuntu are based on it; using the base OS will let you strip away a whole lot of stuff you don't want or need.
That's kinda shit advice man. IME Ubuntu adds a large layer of comparability to Debian, I'm not too sure about mint I never used it.
If you want a stripped down version try a "Server" edition like Ubuntu Server. That is what I use for an installer, then I apt-get install on top of that base system.
This way you get all the compatability and repos. I highly suggest for a single user system to forgo the DM and autologin, then auto startx, and set your config to exec openbox-session.
From there you can add your toolbars and desktop if you like, this way you can build a nice system that runs 10% of the system resources of windows.
I plan of writing a guide on how to do this in a couple of weeks.