Best Mods to have

Popular ones are MCCC and NPCC, although I don’t use either in my game.

One of my favorites is Triplis’ Thinking skill.
https://triplis.github.io/mods/thinking-skill.html

the npcc is old unless on his pateron is free if not the old one that is free needs too be updated

Slice of Life is another one a lot of people like, but I don’t use that one either.

KawaiiStacie (creator of the famous Slice of Life) has a lot of deep and well-maintained mods. Most of them are very fluffy though (overly filled with unnecessary features) so use at your own risk.

https://www.carls-sims-4-guide.com/tutorials/mods-cc.php
https://www.carls-sims-4-guide.com/sims4news/213/10-mods-that-add-or-improve-gameplay-in-the-sims-4/
https://www.carls-sims-4-guide.com/mods.php
https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=l3SyvwwXZzU&ab_channel=Carl%27sSimGuides

Bear in mind that some of the mods that he mentions may now not be up to date.

mods to make Community Lot more lively

No Empty Venues When Arriving
https://www.patreon.com/posts/no-empty-venues-25331818
Visitors Not Spawning in Front of Venues
https://www.patreon.com/posts/improved-during-25395301
Improved Autonomy During Loading Screens
https://www.patreon.com/posts/improved-during-25395301

from same creator and updated to latest patch.

I think it really depends on what you're wanting out of the game. For me MCCC is vital for my Ancestral game save. My other game save requires Road to Fame, because that way, along with the GF EP, I can have a singer Sim again. :) I use Slice of Life (SOL) and I have removed a few modules I don't want or need without disrupting the way the rest of that mod works. I also use LilmsSam 21 day seasons. Two weeks is too short, four weeks is overkill. Three is just right.

Thanks everyone :) Lots to choose from!!

Has anyone got experience with poses and the pose player please?

MCCC for sure. Definitely makes it so much easier to have better control over everything in game, makes game progression a lot easier too. I like to use to it establish relationships or pregnancies for sims instead of having to play out all the interactions to get my sims to a certain level (although of course there are times I like to play the good old fashioned way for that "real" story progression feel). I also used to have a mod for playable pets but sadly it has not updated in some time, hoping to find a new one at some point!

I'm still using the playable pets mod even though it hasn't been updated. :)