The main difference between Ubuntu-LTS and Debian is that Debian's stable release cycle is longer and more thorough. This means that Ubuntu-LTS will have slightly newer software, but Debian will likely have less bugs.
Debian's primary concern with its release cycle is stability. Other distributions like Ubuntu or CentOS trade a little stability for newer software.
My method: Use Debian but when you must have newer versions just add an unofficial repository to your apt sources (assuming you're prepared to deal with the complexity and inconsistency this might introduce).
> The main difference between Ubuntu-LTS and Debian is that Debian's stable release cycle is longer and more thorough.
I believe that the debian stable release cycle is currently at about 2 years, w/ a very short support cycle afterwards. The LTS cycle is 2 years with a 3 years of additional support afterwards.
I've personally found Ubuntu more bare bones out of the box than CentOS.