I have played since the early 80's.. not so much now... but I always stuck to the original D&D never went to the advanced route.. I have all the 80's set's upto immortal. Those are the ones in boxes.
In the early 2000's I worked in a bookstore, and used to run a 'public' game every week.. anyone who was interested could join in (we had pre-made character sheets).. and wow, that was fun, the variety of people who got involved was awesome.
My true love is fantasy wargaming.. Warhammer in particular. But D&D will always have a place in my heart.