what mods should i try to use?

[SkullyEmpire]

just coming back to KSP after a long while of not playing any mod suggestions i should try out?

[Gadget]

I'm in the same boat as you and have literally just re-installed the game tonight. All of the mods I installed are installed using CKAN and found on the Spacedock website, I have mainly focused on visual mods for now trying to get the game to look more like KSP2. Like many I have been very much let down by that game so I'm starting to play the first one again.

Visual Mods...

Scatterer
Environmental Visual Enhancements Redux
Waterfall
Waterfall - Restock
Planetshine
Spectra (all 8 of the mods listed in CKAN)
Reentry Particle Effects
Parallax
Parallax - Stock Planet Textures
Parallax - Stock Scatter Textures
Shabby
Shaddy
ReStock
Restock+

Audio Mods...

Chatterer

Gameplay Mods...

ForScience! (ease of collecting science)
Outer Planets Mod
Outer Planets Mod - Parallax with Scatterer

Parts Mods, too many to list but a hew suggestions...

KeR-7
ASSET Mk-1 Reentry pod
X-20 Moroz Spaceplane
Planetside Exploration Technologies
Pretty much anything from the "Near Future" series.

Hope that helps.

[✪KSPBugger✪]

Airplane Plus, BDArmory continued, North Kerbin Dynamics Renewed-Extended, Neist Air, Module Manager, Scatterer, and Parallax.

[DEAD MEAT]

After playing it, I could never play KSP without the Outer Planets Mod.
My list is very similar to the one above, I try to kind of have a baseline install that consist of just a few must have and cosmetic Mods, like I said almost identical to the list above, but I consider the "Docking Camera" Mod a must have and just like the Outer Planets mod, once you've experienced the game with them, without them what's the use.
Just sayin'.
That's just me and the beauty of the game is you can jam it up and freeze it the way YOU like.
Outer Planets Mod
Docking Camera Mod
(and the stuff to get them to work)
First thing ...
Then all the other stuff

[JackoThe*****o]

Planet packs:

OPM or Outer planets mod
Kchalbeloh
QuackPack

Visual/audio:

Scatterer
EVE
Spectra
Chatterer
Planetshine
BetterKerbol
Distant Object enchancement

QoL stuff:
BetterTimeWarp
Editor enhancements redux
KSP community fixes

[bongokat]

Is spectra better than astronomers visual pack?

[FoxSinBaan]

There is a modpack called the Lifeboat Project, there is a .ckan download, open it using ckan.