[CONSUMER ADVICE] Laptop Buying

thinkpad x1 carbon series is a bit above your price range but are excellent machines that work well with linux

If you're not bothering with Windows, you can save a bit and customize pretty much everything on your laptop (including keyboard layout):
https://frame.work/gb/en/products/laptop-diy-13-gen-intel

Also, if you're mostly using a browser and music playback (not recording), you could save even more with a Chromebook (which does have the option to run Linux within it, but apparently there's no USB support so forget recording music etc...).

Lastly, if you're alright with having your work MacBook do double duty, you could install a Linux virtual machine on it via https://getutm.app/ and work out a backup/encryption scheme if work ever reclaims it, or segregate it entirely by running it off a small external SSD.

don't transport it by wrapping towels around it! laptops are delicate precision machines! spend £20 on a padded laptop protector at least

I have a £300 voucher for Currys/PC World, as a replacement for a laptop that was so slow as to be useless (but had been covered by one of their insurances). Would probably double my spend to get something half decent. Likely to be used a lot but not for much fancy (eg. gaming) - more emails, internet browsing and a small amount of music. As ever, any recommendations? Ta!

And/or anything to particularly look for? (Bloke in shop mentioned Corei3 or above).

Do PC shops in the UK let you test out devices in-store?

Something I think really gets overlooked for laptops is just how comfortable the keyboard is -- try a few typing tests with them.
If they have internet set up, you might also try testing how responsive it is after opening 20 tabs on a browser playing various youtube clips simultaneously -- also pick a movie scene you like to see how much you like the screen.

As far as processor goes -- this wouldn't be a direct test, but if you can, try the above tests using just battery to see how it performs (often, laptops behave quite differently plugged in than on battery), listen to hear if a fan starts revving up.

Chromebook could cover a lot of your requirements while allowing budget for screen/build quality imo

Ta, both.

https://gizmodo.com/hp-pavilion-plus-14-2023-review-performance-1851066819

$900 is budget now?