cheese_greaterIf I have a PC with Windows on it, how can I parallel install Linux so I can start playing around with that?
not an answer to your question, but I personally never felt dual-booting or VM’s were a good way to get into Linux. If your experience is the same, you might enjoy just getting a different computer for Linux. E.g. you could get a raspberry pi to use as a Syncthing-server, or an old laptop if you have a stationary computer-
As for the aesthetic - if you’re new to Linux, you should not prioritize aesthetics when picking a distro. Find something reasonably stable and well supported, like Mint or Kubuntu, and play around with themes and such in stead.
VM’s are fine - the world runs on VM’s.
Dual booting is asking for a failure.