I used things like twm or fvwm at the time. in 2021, xmonad works well.
My concern, though, is that:
1) I've never seen modern "lightweight" distros work well. There isn't critical mass, and it's always my wifi or bluetooth or something. In the nineties, there were Linux HOWTOs. In 2021, there's always some kludge written by Ubuntu wrapping some kludge written by Red Hat wrapping some half-baked API and no documentation.
2) The instant you run an app, you lose all the upside. Firefox or Chrome can eventually eat up all available memory. Most apps are super-bloated, e.g. written in JavaScript/electron, and distributed in some containerized VM or some nonsense like that. If you skim out the 5% between apps and iron, it just doesn't help much.
TLDR: It works for me which doesn't mean it works for you depending on your needs.
I use "apps" like firefox emacs mpd mpv not electron crap and it works well enough for me. I don't need anyones kludges to run well behaved native apps in their intended environment. Seems like you would be liable to experience hassle to the degree you decide to make it complicated.
Sound working on supported hardware hasn't been a problem in over a decade. Bluetooth is dicier but for example I didn't have much trouble using it for example on my thinkpad where its useful for a small portable wireless mouse to talk to the laptop. I've honestly never used it on my desktop. I still think it 99% comes down to supported hardware not distro.
Honestly although I've had working bluetooth sound I have entirely switched away from bluetooth because sound quality at least on affordable hardware is much crappier than wired. People that must have wireless especially because their phone doesn't have a port are selling Bose QC25 for $75 all day long. I bought a pair that I plan on using for the next decade. Look at the more recent competition. For $300 for the QC35 I could depending on audio codec have a differing degree of worse sound from noticeably worse to almost as good with a specialized battery that is going to crap out a few years and eventually need major surgery.
As bad as the difficulty to replace is the fact that its built in and not hotswappable so if you forget to charge it then its down for the count. It's dead Jim. With my qc25 I pop in a freshly charged bog standard NIMH AAA for days of use and if it dies I swap in another. When they no longer charge into the trash they go and I get a replacement from anywhere. If none are at hand it still works just sans noise cancellation.
It's also easier to switch between an always connected set of headphones and speakers instead of a script shuttling everything between pulseaudio sinks and switching the default it now just needs to toggle which alsa output is muted a trick that worked 18 years ago.
It's like a microcosm of why new isn't better.
On the topic of firefox I've noticed the run away eat all your memory issue seems to be highly correlated with having a bunch of addons but I did learn a handy thing before I realized this. Userspace oom daemons. Something like earlyoom kicks in WAY faster than the oom killer with configurable targets. This means an out of control firefox trivially meets a fiery death instead of your session.
Well, I do have a job. I don't have complete control over what I use, since I'm not comfortable tenured/retired/living a life of leisure. There are tools I need to use. One of those was at 14gb when I was writing this message, so I could communicate with my coworkers.
For Bluetooth, I like a cheap set of headphones I bought for <$10 from some random Chinese seller. It's luck-of-the-draw, but these work well. People hear me well, and I hear them well. I don't need audiophile grade -- for that, I'd rather use my speakers. When the batteries die, I'll buy another set.
The nice thing about Bluetooth is that I can be gardening, cleaning, or otherwise keep my hands engaged during meetings. I find I focus a lot better if I'm not sitting at a computer.
I do have some fancier headsets for entertainment use, but those are not for work use. As a footnote, all the Bose headsets I've used have almost uselessly bad microphones.
I wasn't familiar with earlyoom. Thank you. That will be a game changer, if it works as I expect it will.
I'm pretty sure the QC35s still work fine as normal headphones with the battery dead and 3.5mm cable. That's how my Sony WH-1000XM3s work. You only need to turn them on to use noise canceling or have them be Bluetooth. They also quick charge giving a couple hours usage in a few minutes of usage. It's a bit of a tradeoff but the convenience is IMO worth it.
My concern, though, is that:
1) I've never seen modern "lightweight" distros work well. There isn't critical mass, and it's always my wifi or bluetooth or something. In the nineties, there were Linux HOWTOs. In 2021, there's always some kludge written by Ubuntu wrapping some kludge written by Red Hat wrapping some half-baked API and no documentation.
2) The instant you run an app, you lose all the upside. Firefox or Chrome can eventually eat up all available memory. Most apps are super-bloated, e.g. written in JavaScript/electron, and distributed in some containerized VM or some nonsense like that. If you skim out the 5% between apps and iron, it just doesn't help much.
3) Dependencies. If you want Bluetooth sound....
Is void better? Or does it somehow address this?