(Inspired by https://community.linuxmint.com/tutorial/view/2324)

Doing research on possible laptops for Linux, I did not select laptops where the hardware simply can just function.  Many times, the hardware does work, but far less effectively than it does on Windows.  Companies like Dell, Lenovo, and Ubuntu provide lists of Linux-compatible laptops, but unfortunately, Linux drivers for those laptops can often be much worse than available Windows drivers.  In this article, I select laptops where the hardware works on Linux as well as it would work with Windows drivers, if not better on Linux.

Clevo:

My favorite Linux laptops are the Clevo barebones laptops.  This is because hardware in those laptops is usually generic or widespread, so in most cases, special drivers are not required for optimal functioning.  There are many kinds of up-to-date Clevo laptops available from several online stores (http://rjtech.com/shop/index.php?dispatch=categories.view&category_id=189).

Driver information for most Clevo laptops is available at (http://s472165864.onlinehome.fr/anyware/index.php?dir=manuels/)  I have thoroughly searched the manuals and found that all the drivers have an official Linux equivalent.

The downside is that the hardware may not be specialized to the extent you wish, but for me, this is a price to pay for having decent drivers.

FSF Approved Thinkpad Libreboot Laptops:

The Free Software Foundation maintains a list of approved laptops that run on 100% free software which "respects your freedom".  This means that the all the software is free to use and edit, even the bootloader software (libreboot).  There is a list available at (https://www.fsf.org/resources/hw/endorsement/respects-your-freedom).

The downside is that the hardware is a decade old, but this is the price to pay for fully free software.