In case you missed it, there's a website that makes it as easy as possible to join Mastodon (and other Fedi platforms):
The featured general server changes regularly, and for people who want choice there's a full list of over 100 servers sorted into categories.
All of the servers are listed with permission of their admins, and promise to comply with specific standards of moderation and technical reliability at https://fedi.garden/about-this-site
