Season 2 is very underrated. Lots of good episodes. It also lays the foundations of some great TNG story arcs.
Haha, love those old VHS sets where you have to pay $20 for two episodes. There are some people out there who actually paid somewhere around $1600 for the whole series. Me, I just taped them off the TV.
I'd reiterate what others have said about sticking with the early seasons. I joined TNG in season 4, so when I originally went back to the older episodes, I hated them. I thought they were cheap, overly-dramatic and the characterisations all over the place. That was pretty much my view for years afterwards. However, I've just completed a marathon of season 1 this week, and I've found that there is much to enjoy here.