speremint:

In terms of base game play, I’d definitely recommend the following:

• Longevity- Essentially makes the game more worth playing past the first two years. Adds taxes (which can be disabled), Dynamic NPC clothing, more crops, and expands the dialogue (currently I think only with Abigail?)
  
• Part of the Community- Makes it easier to gain passive friendship so everyone in town doesn’t think you’re the biggest jackhole in Winter bc you’re too busy waiting outside your LI’s house to talk to them
• Cooking Skill- Just makes cooking feel actually worth it imo
• Birthday mod- I’ve not used yet but it gives you the option to set a birthday bc literally everyone has a birthday in the game… except for you.
• Love Letters: I made this mod; essentially it adds letters from LIs; they’ll send the player presents, followups from events, and just check in. They also will give a subtle hint on how to trigger their heart events so it seems more natural than having to wiki that shit.

You will need SMAPI to download these, but the files will tell you how (I think Longevity also requires content patcher and Seasonal Immersion; it’s a hassle but it definitely improves the game).

There’s a bunch of dialogue improvement mods as well, because the villagers tend to talk about the same shit for the entire fuckin’ season.

For Aesthetic and Customization:

• More Hair- I actually made this mod (maybe I’ll update it one day). All it does is give more hair customization options
  
• Get Dressed- Lets you customize your outfit/appearance post-intro. It’s nice if you want that Immersion™.
• Seasonal Victorian Buildings- Makes your farm look fancy and also your houses/buildings will be affected by the season (so like in winter there’ll be snow n shit on your roof etc. etc.).
• Recolor of grass/dirt- There’s a lot of these; I use this one because it feels less eye blinding than the normal yellow and lime terrain.
• Portrait mods- There’s a shit ton out there; just google them lol. I will tell you this though; not many are completed just because of the sheer immensity of portraits in game. Many modders lose interest or just don’t want to finish them. Assuming you’re the anon from before, here’s a link to where my mod is still downloadable (I removed it from the Nexus because people are assholes).
•  **Edit: I finished my portrait mod, so it’s officially complete. Available here.

Finally, in terms of just UI and Quality-of-Life

• UI Info Suite- Gives you info without making you feel like you’re cheating
  
• Experience Bars- Lets you see how much exp. until you reach the next level of a skill.