We've done this a few times in the last thread.
Instead of doing what I normally do and spout off a list of episode names which some may deem arbitrary (although I have watched every episode - something few people in here would be willing to admit), here is a list of the top-rated episodes from Season 18 and onwards as per their IMDB user rating score:
THE ESSENTIAL EPISODES
8.7 -
Holidays of Future Passed - NABF18 - S23E09
8.5 -
24 Minutes - JABF14 - S18E21
8.4 -
Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind - KABF02 - S19E09
8.1 -
The Book Job - NABF22 - S23E06
Watch these. They're the consensus favorites.
8.0 - A Totally Fun Thing Bart Will Never Do Again - PABF12 - S23E19
7.9 - The Debarted - KABF06 - S19E13
7.8 -
The Mook, the Chef, the Wife and Her Homer - HABF15 - S18E01
7.7 -
You Kent Always Say What You Want - JABF15 - S18E22
7.6 -
Coming to Homerica - LABF12 - S20E21
7.6 - Dial 'N' for Nerder - KABF07 - S19E14
7.6 - To Cur with Love - RABF01 - S24E08
7.6 - Treehouse of Horror XX - LABF14 - S21E04
Let me interpret the above group for you. The premieres and finales have been somewhat score-inflated so I would discount those temporarily. Here's what we're left with:
SOLID RECOMMENDATIONS
8.0 -
A Totally Fun Thing Bart Will Never Do Again - PABF12 - S23E19
7.9 -
The Debarted - KABF06 - S19E13
7.6 -
Dial 'N' for Nerder - KABF07 - S19E14
7.6 -
To Cur with Love - RABF01 - S24E08
7.6 -
Treehouse of Horror XX - LABF14 - S21E04
All of these episodes are solid, safe choices if you're looking to branch out after checking out the four essential picks.
There's a core group of diehard Simpsons enthusiasts that don't care much for ATFTBWNDA but I rather enjoyed it. It's certainly unique and hardly typical compared to what you'll find anywhere else in the series. I excluded it from the essentials list due to how divisive it can be.
NOW IT STARTS TO GET UGLY
7.8 - The Mook, the Chef, the Wife and Her Homer
7.7 - You Kent Always Say What You Want
7.6 - Coming to Homerica
7.5 - 500 Keys
7.5 - Angry Dad: The Movie
7.5 - Beware My Cheating Bart
7.5 - The Bob Next Door
7.5 - The Day the Earth Stood Cool
7.5 - The Food Wife
7.5 - The Good, the Sad and the Drugly
7.5 - Homer the Whopper
7.5 - How I Wet Your Mother
7.5 - Husbands and Knives
7.5 - Springfield Up
7.5 - Them, Robot
7.5 - To Surveil with Love
Every single one of these episodes has noteworthy flaws... and some are just plain bad. I'll vouch for the Matt Selman episodes from this group (The Day the Earth Stood Cool, The Food Wife and, to a lesser extent, Husbands and Knives) but even they're not for everybody.
7.0-7.4 - Decent enough episodes if they sound interesting or they come recommended to you by someone whose judgment you trust.
6.9 and below -
AVOID AT ALL COSTS; there is nothing good here
So there you have it... you have 4 essential choices, 5 solid recommendations and then you can scope out others that people personally recommend from what's left.
IceDoesntHelp likes the episode where Bob slices his face off. I don't.
I enjoy Homer Goes to Prep School... but a lot of people won't.
He likes The Squirt and the Whale. I like The Great Simpsina. A lot of you don't like Lisa at all... there are other episodes for you to seek out then.
The important thing to remember is that
Moe Goes from Rags to Riches really is the worst episode of all-time.