Every modded Skyrim is built on the same skeleton, and these are the bones. SkyUI replaces the unusable console-first menus with a proper PC interface. Address Library and SSE Engine Fixes are the foundation that stops the game from crashing and lets hundreds of other mods work. Install these before anything else — most mods on this page assume they're present and will throw errors or silently misbehave without them.
Ranked by hand, not auto-generated. Every mod links to its full page with install guide + compatibility.