Linux Distros: What are the differences and how do I choose one?

Ask a newcomer about Linux and they’ll probably mention something about Ubuntu. Someone a little more knowledgeable about Linux will know that there are many flavours, called “distributions” (or “distros”, for short), of Linux. There are over six hundred distributions out there, and they’re all labelled as “Linux”. What makes one distro different from the next, and how do you choose one?