Are you running the latest Xubuntu version? I must admit that I am quite the fan of Xubuntu and it is currently my main distro. I have experienced sound problems in the past when it comes to Mint and I am surprised to see it still happens! I do hate to hear that, but stuff like that happens I guess.
Xubuntu is a very snappy little distribution. The boot up time is not too bad at all and everything works perfectly once it is loaded. This is one thing I have always enjoyed about Linux when compared to something like the laptop I am on that is running Windows 7. Once the laptop boots up, I have to let it sit a bit to "warm up", I guess, or I experience some lagging.