I bought a refurbed Dell XPS 15 9550 a little over a year ago. I love it. I run Ubuntu on it and I've yet to have any problems.
Only negatives are that the webcams in an odd place, the speakers are awful, and it's a bit heavy.
The only XPS competitor I considered was various comparable Thinkpad models. They have a very different look and keyboard feel, so it's really down to personal preference or what specific deals you can find. Older but still reliable Thinkpads can be incredibly inexpensive, and are also very easy to modify.
Only negatives are that the webcams in an odd place, the speakers are awful, and it's a bit heavy.
The only XPS competitor I considered was various comparable Thinkpad models. They have a very different look and keyboard feel, so it's really down to personal preference or what specific deals you can find. Older but still reliable Thinkpads can be incredibly inexpensive, and are also very easy to modify.