I call my desktop loseldoom but my servers are fugit and opti :P
SmallAlmond
occ files:scan --all (or something like that)
"mLauncher" from Fdroid, it is a fork of OlauncherCF
I'm like you pretty new to all of this, but one thing I now is that you shouldn't use steamunlocked. (It is discouraged on the megathread)
When I had reddit (deleted a few years ago), I posted a screenshot of my android launcher, and someone pointed out that I was using google apps, and said "protect your privacy", he gave me some resources and that's where it all clicked for me. What a nice guy.
I read the full blog post from the linked blog of a sysadmin there, and it was worth the read, what a ride.
It's a piped frontend, so only piped accounts. (Piped is a frontend for YouTube)
Bonus: Instance and community
Decentralization is king here
Linux mint is in my opinion the best distro for a new user, but you may personally not be fond of the UI.
I don't know how to write a guide for you, but if you have more specific questions feel free to ask them, best of luck!
Olauncher, Foss and actually minimal
Most of the "looks" come from the compositor (picom) and the bar.