For someone who stopped getting packs after Cottage Living…

Horse Ranch is my favourite of the recent packs. It seems like I have now more horses than sims in the game. But I've never gotten near a horse in real life, so I don't know why I enjoy it so much.

I think it comes down to your play style. I tend to play realistic/family game play so I would recommend Growing Together. I use the world it came with a lot. I feel like the pack added a lot of gameplay.  Horse Ranch also was a surprise hit for me but mainly for the world and build buy. The world that came with Wedding Stories is my favorite world. At this point you should be able to get all of the above at a sale price.

If you like occults, I really reccomend Werewolves.  The CAS and Build/buy is unique in that pack as well (a lot of damaged, run down stuff)  It's also got a great advancement system for the Werewolves.  (my only quibble is that they kept the Alpha/Omega thing that is not a real thing with real wolves)

Skip For Rent for now.  The world is cool, I love the CAS/Build Buy, but the key feature - Residential rentals - causes problems.

I'll second Horse Ranch though.  But I'm biased.  I love horses, I rode horses as a kid (competatively, even, though I didn't do very well) so a pack dedicated to horses is very much My Thing

If you like Cottage Living, then Horse Ranch is a must. The two are twins.

I love the BB and CAS in High School years. The game play, in my opinion, is fun for like a week and then seems very repetitive. The world is boring. If you can get it half price or less, then it may be worth it. 

I'll echo the sentiments for Horse Ranch though. I don't play with the horses that often but the world is nice, and the BB/CAS are wonderful as well.

Growing Together has decent game play but the world is disappointing. The CAS and BB are nice though.

For Rent is okay. I could take it or leave it.

Like most said, Horse Ranch and Growing Together are both really great. I'm also partial to the new stuff packs, Home Chef Hustle and Crystal Creations. Both add a nice amount of gameplay and have some pretty nice stuff.

Definitely skip For Rent until it's fixed. 

I haven't played with High School Years much, but it's not a bad pack. Same for My Wedding Stories - I do find that one a bit boring (especially the world, but similarly, the Growing Together world also has little going on in terms of walk by's). 

Growing Together adds so much to family gameplay that I highly recommend it. It especially adds milestones for the new infant life stage that makes it so realistic. I love the family dynamics and the compatibility ratings. Although Sims can still become good friends in spite of bad compatibility.

Werewolves are a hoot. If you like occults, they are fun to play. Even the youngest Sims have characteristics that let you know they will be werewolves from the start. 

A lot of people love Horse Ranch, but I haven't had a chance to play it as yet. For Rent has corrupted saves, so I would avoid it until it's fixed.

I had a terrible time with my wedding stories when it first came out, but my last weddings have gone well. I find it helps to arrive at the venue early and test things out. You can even do a wedding rehearsal and make sure things work. One thing that still disappointed me is that the Sim of Honor doesn't stand with your Sim. The only position of honor I use now is flower pal. They can walk down, strew the flowers and sit down. The officiant is working for me now which I love. 

I personally have gotten a lot out of Growing Together and think the self discovery, midlife crisis and milestones add a lot to the game. I also like the new family dynamics. 

Right now I'm playing a lot with horse ranch, and I agree that it does work well with Cottage Living and is fun, though taking care of the horses is a lot of work and gameplay can become a bit repetitive with needy horses. 

High school years has its perks, mainly in BB/CAS, but the world is boring, and school gameplay limited. Worth it on sale tough. 

Unlike many I actually love For rent, but then I haven't had many of the major bugs (just some). It does work poorly with cottage living (if sharing a farm with another family animals will be dirty and mistreated when switching household even if they are perfectly cared for. You also can't generally see and interact with horses on communal grounds unless you own them. Chickens also freeze the game if you do not own them, for some reason I have yet to figure out. However if you play the unit that owns the animals it works fine.  The cursed book event is also bugged, so turn off events before playing. With that said, almost all my character live in or own rentals at this point of time. 

My wedding stories I would avoid like the plague. It's broken, hard handled, and come with a pretty but utterly boring world. I like the CAS and BB but it ruins weddings completely so if you like throwing weddings, do not get it. 

I own Werewolf, but haven't played with the key features yet but I like the more broken BB. Sometimes you need a bit of worn and battered furniture. 

I love Horse Ranch, but I love horses and the American west.  It added fun things like  nectar-making.   High School Years didn't live up to expectations for me, though I'm glad I got it for the new world & npcs.  For Rent is one pack I regret getting, as I haven't enjoyed the landlord gameplay at all. 

Oh my goodness I love this screenshot, your Sim is gorgeous as is the build in the background! I can see why you like the in game horses :)