The Thomas/Adams stuff is great, but like all Silver Age stuff it's an acquired taste.

 

Ironically enougth, I thought that the best post-300 stuff up until I stoped reading at that Neo business was the period after Zero Tolerence when there were no X-Men teams and the books just did individual stories about what the characters were doing instead.

It wasen't the greatest stuff by any stretch of the imagination, but it was good after being bludgeoned by two second rate crossovers in relatively quick sucesson and it was certainly better then the bilge that followed up until I gave up.

What do you expect at over 350 pages each?

 

Alot of the NEW X-MEN comics are good, check out an of 'em

 

The Grant Morrison one or the one that keeps killing its supporting cast?

 

Essential X-Men 1-3 is a good place to start! Claremont and great artists like Dave Cockrum,Alan Davis,John Byrne. Good stuff.

 

Okay Here's the most complete list of trades of the good stuff I can think of:

Pre-Claremont
Essential Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1
Essential Classic X-Men Vol. 2
Visionaries: Neil Adams

Then Either
Essential X-Men Vol. 1-7 (so far)
Essential X-Factor Vol 1 (and I think Vol. 2 is out or coming soon)

Or if you want them in color

Phoenix Rising?
Dark Phoenix Saga
Days of Furture Past
Wolverine Mini Trade
From the Ashes
Mutant Massacre

Then picking up from there
Fall of the Mutants
Inferno
X-Tinction Agenda
Visionaries: Jim Lee? (I know there is a trade that has the last 3 issues Claremont did that started the second X-Men, can anyone remember exactly what it is called)
X-Cutioner's Song
Fatal Attractions
Legion Quest
Age of Apocalypse
Origin of Generation X (aka the Phalanx Covenant)
Operation Zero Tolerance

There's also Essential Wolverine Vol. 1-4 (Claremont's first 10 issues and Hama's 80+ issue run are essential Wolvervine reading if you are a fan of the character.)

I'm fuzzy on what's been reprinted after that until we get, Morrison, Casey and Claremont's X-Treme, but Claremont's first run, Nicieza, and Lobdell's stuff represent the best of the X-Men for me so far (along with some of Thomas/Adams and Lee/Kirby, and Kelly & Segal assuming the latter's has even been reprinted).

And if anyone needs help with what the best Wolverine stories are since there are like a bajillion issues with him, I can help make good recomendations about that too, since Wolverine is my favorite X-Men.

 

Something Genesis. I have that one myself. They edited out some of the pages that were part of storylines not republished in that trade. So no Longshot and Dazzler.  

 

Mutant Genesis. That's what it's called! I saw it at the store today.