Beware of the good old days.....
I played 1st, 2nd, 3.0, 3.5, in fact my teenage years were right in the 2nd edition, I played so many adventures, each week end, by day and by night for many many years and I really enjoyed 2nd.
When 3.0 went out I looked at it like a strange thing, sreaming that it wasn't D&D anymore, but I was the first in our club to try it and I enjoyed the easy and very clear rules, I converted everyone (great charisma no?) it was 10 years ago, some had stopped gaming and we were less numerous, I was also the first to switch to 3.5 seven years ago since that I got married, had a child, twins are coming and I play only once a month for 6/8 hours, soon I'll stop playing (What!!!!!!), I'll never use 4ed.
As you can see it greatly depends of the time you play, the people you play with and also if you're younger or older.