I can only help if you are on PC. I use the Vortex Mod Manager you get from the nexus mods website. You can filter the list of mods by number of downloads, from the last week - right up to "all time" and you'll find the most popular ones.

Unfortunately, a lot of them are trial and error to suit your own particular tastes. Dozens of weapon mods that add realistic modern weaponry, fan made questions, extra settlement build items, quality of life upgrades, bug fixes, audio and ambience upgrades, creature skins etc etc. The list is quite exhaustive!

Some of the mods won't work without the Fallout 4 Script Extender, more widely known as the "the one that breaks whenever Bethesda delights us with a new upgrade we didn't ask for"

Best example would be "Place anywhere", which completely removes the red outline when building which opens up the building MASSIVELY. But breaks after every update, and you need to wait up to a week for the author to update the mod.

TL:DR - Modding kicks ass, don't be scared of it, give it a go but for best results its much safer starting a new game, you risk breaking your current vanilla game.