what sims 4 packs are the best and worst?

@coolstorybroski , that depends on your personality and how you like to play! 🥳 For example you mentioned Parenthood... that is one of my favorites, but I love to play with families!  But a player who prefers Single Sims or Sim Couples with no children, or who likes to throw a lot of parties or go to a lot of parties or public venues, this wouldn't be the best pack for those players.

One person's favorite pack is another person's least favorite pack and vice versa! If you have a friend who knows you and what you like and dislike and who plays The Sims 4, their opinion should have more weight over that of a stranger! 🥰

For me, my must have packs would be Cats & Dogs (EP), Seasons (EP) , Cottage Living (EP) , Parenthood (GP) , Nifty Knitting(SP).  Those are my top 5, but I really love City Living(EP) as well!  After that I would say Vintage Glamour (SP), Toddler Stuff (SP), Kids Room Stuff (SP) , Get to Work (EP) ,Tiny Living (SP), Jungle Adventure (GP), and Movie Hangout(SP) .  

I think Seasons is the safest bet.  It seems to please the most amount of people, and you are sure that the packs contents will always effect your Sims since it blends into their lives naturally! 

It also depends on if you are more into gameplay, creating Sims in CAS, or if you are a Builder.  😉
For gameplay I think Seasons is indispensable!  I think that is probably the best loved pack from most players.  Other excellent packs are Vampires (GP) and Realm of Magic (GP), but that pack isn't for everyone, as a lot of people don't like the supernatural in their game. However, if you don't have a problem with having supernatural stuff in your game, the gameplay in these packs is a lot of fun!  😄

Discover University(EP) can be fun and challenging , but be careful with it if you are a Rotational player, as it doesn't really mesh with the rotational style of gameplay.  But Discover University is one of the best packs if you want more male clothing for Sims Teen and older!  It also has a lot of useful casual clothing.  

If you like more sophisticated clothing then I would suggest Vintage Glamour. 😍 It also comes with a Butler and the best (and smallest) bar in the game, the Globe Bar!  If you like bright colors then i suggest Movie Hangout and City Living, both for clothing and Build/Buy Mode items!

Another good pack for Build/Buy items and CAS items is Island Living (EP)  !  My one complaint is that though the Mermaids have wonderful CAS items, their gameplay is not as fleshed out as that of Vampires (from the Vampires pack)) and the Spellcasters that come with Realm of Magic.  That is because Island Living is not centered around Mermaids, just like Get to Work is not centered around Aliens. Those packs have other gameplay not associated with Mermaids or Aliens.   

And while I don't particularly enjoy doing laundry in the game, Laundry Day (SP) is a lot of people's favorite SP!  It does have a lot of CAS and B&B Mode items that I use all the time, and if you prefer realistic gameplay over the fantasy gameplay of something like Vampires, then Laundry Day would be a good choice! 😃

If you like to take your Sims out on a vacation and have a bit of adventure, I recommend Jungle Adventure (GP)!  I think that pack is a lot of fun!

Another excellent pack is Get Together!  While my playstyle doesn't take advantage of this pack as much as others, there are a lot of powerful interactions you can do with this pack.  The Club System in this pack has a lot of perks that you can find creative ways to utilize! 
Also, if you like big gardens, with Get Together you can skip hiring a gardener and just join the Garden Gnomes Club and have them meet at your house instead of the public lot, and they will do your gardening for you! 😅  Not only is this free, but you get club perks that your Sims can benefit from!  Also, if you love to build, Get Together is a Builder's favorite !  

There is always at least one clothing item, piece of furniture or architecture, or in-game interaction from each pack that I end up using over and over again, even if there are items from that pack that i hardly use.  There is a pair of sparkly tights from Spooky Stuff (SP) that I can't live without, even if I rarely use the other items. 😅

I would suggest looking at the items each pack has to offer (at least once you narrow your choices down to the ones that sound the best to you), especially if you are debating between some of the Stuff Packs (which don't usually have a lot of gameplay attached to them).  Do this by launching your game and then on the Main Menu choose either packs or kits by clicking on those choices at the top left corner.  Then just choose the pack you want and you can see all the CAS items in one tab and all the Bulid/Buy items in the other tab.  You will not be able to see all the swatches these items come with, but it will give you and idea of what items that pack has! 

For Gameplay, you can always watch some "Let's Play" videos on YouTube.  The Game Changer James Turner has a series with each Game Pack and Expansion Pack where he plays a "Rags to Riches" challenge through each pack that can give you insight to the gameplay in those packs (and there are other YouTubers who would also be good to watch.  

But I would recommend for most payers the following packs :
Seasons
Cottage Living
Parenthood
Get Together
City Living
Honorable mentions :
Discover University (unless you only play rotationally)
Vampires (unless you hate the supernatural or fantasy gameplay)
Realm of Magic (unless you hate supernatural or fantasy gameplay)
Jungle Adventure (unless you don't want to mess with taking your Sims out of their everyday lives)
Cats & Dogs (unless you don't want to worry about taking care of animals) Although this is my favorite pack! 🥳

I did not mention the Stuff Packs here since that is best determined after looking at what the items are from each SP.  

I hope this could help shed some light on your decision! 😅🤞 Please tell us what you decide to first go with! 😇

Happy Simming! 🥳