Recommendations for first impressions worth the hype? [v5]

This came up at a meetup recently and the room was split, so curious what the broader community thinks. Quick context: I am relatively new to this and trying to find my footing.

Spent the last few weekends digging into this and the deeper I go the more questions I have.

Maybe an unpopular opinion but here we go. Long-time lurker, first-time poster. Not sure if this is the right place to ask, mods please remove if it is not.