Any arrangement of debian packages that suits a new user is good for them. I think Unity kinda looks like Mac, so if they are a mac person it might be appropriate. Or even for someone who's primary experience is Android.

If you like to have a "start" bar as I do, Mint is good for that.

I don't like to get people into compiling right away, and Debian has the most convenient packages, whether you get them downstream from Ubuntu or whatever. You can effectively switch between flavors (desktops) at the command line, so your noob isn't stuck with their first choice (though it may be easiest if you switch for them).