What are your favorite late 90s/early 2000s sets?

rms13 · 02-21-2023, 04:50 PM

I collected as a kid/teen from around 1986-1995 and got back in a few years ago. I am going back to buy singles from years I wasn't collecting especially looking for Nomar and Pedro cards from late 90s and early 2000s. It seems like there were a lot of companies making baseball cards during that period. What are some nice looking sets that I should look into? It seems like UD had a lot of different sets during this period. But I also see cards from Pacific and some other companies that weren't really around during my childhood and aren't around now.

marl1220 · 02-21-2023, 05:03 PM

1990 and 1991 Bowman. Simple designs with a crap load of awesome rookie cards.

rms13 · 02-21-2023, 05:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marl1220

1990 and 1991 Bowman. Simple designs with a crap load of awesome rookie cards.

Thanks. I was still collecting at that point but I agree they are great sets. I'm looking more for stuff in the 1996-2006 range

DynaEtch · 02-21-2023, 05:12 PM

Late 90s- Flair Showcase, beautiful premium cards. Pretty much anything Pinnacle, including Zenith. Pinnacle had some really nice museum collection/artist proof type cards, as well as Epix's. I always had a soft spot for 96 and 97 Topps Finest, especially the embossed refractors in 97. Fleer Ultra also seemed popular in the late 90s.

Early 2000s...I dont remember the era quite as much, it was a step down from the innovative 90s designs and quality of cards imo. I remember buying stuff like Fleer Focus and the flagship Topps sets mostly.

rms13 · 02-21-2023, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DynaEtch

Late 90s- Flair Showcase, beautiful premium cards. Pretty much anything Pinnacle, including Zenith. Pinnacle had some really nice museum collection/artist proof type cards, as well as Epix's. I always had a soft spot for 96 and 97 Topps Finest, especially the embossed refractors in 97. Fleer Ultra also seemed popular in the late 90s.

Early 2000s...I dont remember the era quite as much, it was a step down from the innovative 90s designs and quality of cards imo. I remember buying stuff like Fleer Focus and the flagship Topps sets mostly.

Thanks. That's I'll look at those

Americards · 02-21-2023, 05:14 PM

1997 & 1998 Topps Tek...

eye4talent · 02-21-2023, 05:21 PM

You missed the early years of Bowman Chrome. The international refractors are some classic cards. And if you can get your hands on a ‘98 golden anniversary refractor, that would be something else.

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chilly55 · 02-21-2023, 05:36 PM

I opened cases of 1998 Donruss Update for the Crusades & Signature previews. I also opened a ton of 1998 Donruss Collections. Two of my favorite sets from that era.

SearchPatrol · 02-21-2023, 05:49 PM

I like 2 photos on the front.

1995 Select

1995 Select - [Base] #21 - Greg Maddux
Courtesy of COMC.com

2001 Fleer Tradition

2001 Fleer Tradition - [Base] #188 - Derek Jeter
Courtesy of COMC.com

2005 Topps heritage

2005 Topps Heritage - [Base] #7.1 - Ichiro Suzuki (Base Running in Background)
Courtesy of COMC.com

YouTheManNick · 02-21-2023, 06:24 PM

I really like early-mid 2000's Topps Finest Sets. 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006 specifically for my personal tastes.

My off the beaten path favorite set from that era is 2005 Leaf Certified Materials. The mirror parallels are fun.

I also like the Topps 206 sets they did in 2002 and 2009/10.

Lastly, 2006 Allen and Ginter is great... but you missed the boat on the best cards from that set. There are some legit hardcore collectors of that set who have most of the best cards and honestly, their collections are so great that they should have the rest of the best cards as well.

Hollywood42 · 02-21-2023, 06:28 PM

Late 90s Metal Universe is unmatched

bblair_2002 · 02-21-2023, 06:33 PM

2001 and 2002 Topps Archives and Archives Reserve were a super cool idea for sets.

caster513 · 02-21-2023, 06:45 PM

Always been a fan of the EX sets, Layered acetate cards w/ some shine.

1997 EX 2000 - [Base] #40 - Ken Griffey Jr. [EX to NM]
Courtesy of COMC.com

1998 Skybox EX 2001 - [Base] #10 - Ken Griffey Jr.
Courtesy of COMC.com

1999 EX Century - [Base] #17 - Ken Griffey Jr.
Courtesy of COMC.com

NYBBFAN · 02-21-2023, 06:47 PM

1998 Skybox E/X 2001
1999 Bowman Chrome International
2001 Donruss Elite (c'mon those Status inserts were fire)
2000 UD Pros and Prospects
2001 UD Legends of New York
2001 SP Authentic was so clean and crisp

rms13 · 02-21-2023, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hollywood42

Late 90s Metal Universe is unmatched

I have picked up a few Metal Universe cards. I like those sets

rms13 · 02-21-2023, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by caster513

Always been a fan of the EX sets, Layered acetate cards w/ some shine.

1997 EX 2000 - [Base] #40 - Ken Griffey Jr. [EX to NM]
Courtesy of COMC.com

1998 Skybox EX 2001 - [Base] #10 - Ken Griffey Jr.
Courtesy of COMC.com

1999 EX Century - [Base] #17 - Ken Griffey Jr.
Courtesy of COMC.com

I recently picked up an EX2000 Nomar card. Those are very cool with the layering

mfw13 · 02-21-2023, 06:58 PM

1999/2000/2001 Topps Gold Label
2000/2001 Fleer Tradition
2001 & 2002 Donruss Classics
2004 Fleer Platinum...nice simple colorful update of the 1984 Fleer design

wubh · 02-21-2023, 07:26 PM

I have been slowly working on completing these 4 sets:

1998 SPx Finite Spectrum - one of my favorite holofoil finish sets ever

1998 SPx Finite - [Base] - Spectrum #126 - Jeff Kent /2250
Courtesy of COMC.com

1999 Flair Row 1 - gorgeous design with a super premium feel and some great candid player photos

1999 Flair Showcase - [Base] - Row 1 #25 - Barry Bonds /1500
Courtesy of COMC.com

2002 Bowman Chrome Refractors - love the framing of foreground versus background, etching, and refractor shine

2002 Bowman Chrome - [Base] - Refractor #12 - Tsuyoshi Shinjo /500
Courtesy of COMC.com

2003 Topps Chrome Gold Refractors - of all the gold refractors I've owned, I like the way these pop the most

2003 Topps Chrome - [Base] - Gold Refractor #249 - Rich Aurilia /449
Courtesy of COMC.com

RookiesInTheRaw · 02-21-2023, 07:34 PM

Many good call outs already. Studio debuted during your early collecting years, so I would recommend tying that in with some 2004 Donruss Studio. I always loved how the background design is associated to the players' city--also boasts a much improved design from the original and super corny "glamor shot" images of the early 90s. Lastly, 1999 Flair Showcase is great quality and has a very nice design on thicker card stock--always seemed very high end and had a pretty good checklist

bbteamw · 02-21-2023, 07:42 PM

2001 Donruss Elite

somethingclever · 02-21-2023, 08:01 PM

1994 Upper Deck, 1995 Topps, there is a couple nice looking Stadium Clubs set as well. Really can’t go wrong with the last 5 years or so of Upper Deck IMHO.

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Redbandit · 02-21-2023, 08:36 PM

1995 Stadium Club Ring Leaders - these cards are amazing in hand. One per box on average with the members only version being a tough pull. Believe it’s a 40 card set, my absolute favorite

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DynaEtch · 02-21-2023, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SearchPatrol

I like 2 photos on the front.

1995 Select

1995 Select - [Base] #21 - Greg Maddux
Courtesy of COMC.com

Gotta love that mid-90s luxurious marble.

Reminds me of some other sets, 1992-1993 Fleer Ultra, and a set closer to home in terms of my collecting, the back of 1992 Marvel Masterpieces cards. I dunno why, but marble just makes a card look real fancy.

Robles Fan · 02-21-2023, 09:23 PM

Hard to say. But I always thought 2000 Pacific Invincible looked pretty unique and cool. Also used to really dig 2000 Fleer Mystique and 2000 Fleer Ultra.

Astros19 · 02-21-2023, 09:57 PM

Some great sets mentioned.
Can't go wrong with early Flair or Gold Label.
I always like Upper Deck Ovation with the embossed baseball feel to the cards.

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02-21-2023, 06:28 PM	#11
Hollywood42 Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Minnesota Posts: 39,790 Hollywood42	Late 90s Metal Universe is unmatched __________________ Collecting the Twins All my PC wants/haves available at hollywood42cards.com

02-21-2023, 06:45 PM	#13
caster513 Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Cincinnati Posts: 761 cincysportscards	Always been a fan of the EX sets, Layered acetate cards w/ some shine. 1997 EX 2000 - [Base] #40 - Ken Griffey Jr. [EX to NM] Courtesy of COMC.com 1998 Skybox EX 2001 - [Base] #10 - Ken Griffey Jr. Courtesy of COMC.com 1999 EX Century - [Base] #17 - Ken Griffey Jr. Courtesy of COMC.com __________________ Looking for a rare 90's inserts of Griffey & Lofton

02-21-2023, 06:47 PM	#14
NYBBFAN Member Join Date: Apr 2019 Posts: 5,273	1998 Skybox E/X 2001 1999 Bowman Chrome International 2001 Donruss Elite (c'mon those Status inserts were fire) 2000 UD Pros and Prospects 2001 UD Legends of New York 2001 SP Authentic was so clean and crisp __________________ https://gallery.us175.com/ https://test.us175.com/Inventory/wantlist/

02-21-2023, 07:42 PM	#20
bbteamw Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 1,623	2001 Donruss Elite Last edited by bbteamw; 02-24-2023 at 07:17 PM.

02-21-2023, 04:50 PM	#1
rms13 Member Join Date: Mar 2021 Location: California Posts: 7,040	What are your favorite late 90s/early 2000s sets? I collected as a kid/teen from around 1986-1995 and got back in a few years ago. I am going back to buy singles from years I wasn't collecting especially looking for Nomar and Pedro cards from late 90s and early 2000s. It seems like there were a lot of companies making baseball cards during that period. What are some nice looking sets that I should look into? It seems like UD had a lot of different sets during this period. But I also see cards from Pacific and some other companies that weren't really around during my childhood and aren't around now.

02-21-2023, 05:03 PM	#2
marl1220 Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 9,864	1990 and 1991 Bowman. Simple designs with a crap load of awesome rookie cards.

02-21-2023, 05:12 PM	#4
DynaEtch Member Join Date: Sep 2016 Posts: 9,921	Late 90s- Flair Showcase, beautiful premium cards. Pretty much anything Pinnacle, including Zenith. Pinnacle had some really nice museum collection/artist proof type cards, as well as Epix's. I always had a soft spot for 96 and 97 Topps Finest, especially the embossed refractors in 97. Fleer Ultra also seemed popular in the late 90s. Early 2000s...I dont remember the era quite as much, it was a step down from the innovative 90s designs and quality of cards imo. I remember buying stuff like Fleer Focus and the flagship Topps sets mostly. __________________ ~~~ '90s trading cards === Golden Era ~~~

02-21-2023, 05:14 PM	#6
Americards Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: USA Posts: 4,866	1997 & 1998 Topps Tek...

02-21-2023, 05:21 PM	#7
eye4talent Member Join Date: Dec 2018 Location: Monterey, CA Posts: 8,115 eye4talent eye4talent	You missed the early years of Bowman Chrome. The international refractors are some classic cards. And if you can get your hands on a ‘98 golden anniversary refractor, that would be something else. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

02-21-2023, 05:36 PM	#8
chilly55 Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Dumfries, Va Posts: 3,586	I opened cases of 1998 Donruss Update for the Crusades & Signature previews. I also opened a ton of 1998 Donruss Collections. Two of my favorite sets from that era.

02-21-2023, 05:49 PM	#9
SearchPatrol Member Join Date: Sep 2020 Posts: 1,051 AndrewB	I like 2 photos on the front. 1995 Select 1995 Select - [Base] #21 - Greg Maddux Courtesy of COMC.com 2001 Fleer Tradition 2001 Fleer Tradition - [Base] #188 - Derek Jeter Courtesy of COMC.com 2005 Topps heritage 2005 Topps Heritage - [Base] #7.1 - Ichiro Suzuki (Base Running in Background) Courtesy of COMC.com

02-21-2023, 06:24 PM	#10
YouTheManNick Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 2,633 trapjaw73 YTMN	I really like early-mid 2000's Topps Finest Sets. 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006 specifically for my personal tastes. My off the beaten path favorite set from that era is 2005 Leaf Certified Materials. The mirror parallels are fun. I also like the Topps 206 sets they did in 2002 and 2009/10. Lastly, 2006 Allen and Ginter is great... but you missed the boat on the best cards from that set. There are some legit hardcore collectors of that set who have most of the best cards and honestly, their collections are so great that they should have the rest of the best cards as well. __________________ They're = they are. Their = possession. There = "I went there." Two = 2. Too = "Me too." To = "He went to the card show." Your = "your cards." You're = "you're welcome."

02-21-2023, 06:33 PM	#12
bblair_2002 Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Fort Plain,NY Posts: 3,013 hitman73	2001 and 2002 Topps Archives and Archives Reserve were a super cool idea for sets. __________________ 20 year collector of Albert Pujols and I build parallel sets. RIP Topps Chrome Baseball Pink Refractors and Stadium Club Chrome.

02-21-2023, 06:58 PM	#17
mfw13 Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 18,092	1999/2000/2001 Topps Gold Label 2000/2001 Fleer Tradition 2001 & 2002 Donruss Classics 2004 Fleer Platinum...nice simple colorful update of the 1984 Fleer design

02-21-2023, 07:26 PM	#18
wubh Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 525	I have been slowly working on completing these 4 sets: 1998 SPx Finite Spectrum - one of my favorite holofoil finish sets ever 1998 SPx Finite - [Base] - Spectrum #126 - Jeff Kent /2250 Courtesy of COMC.com 1999 Flair Row 1 - gorgeous design with a super premium feel and some great candid player photos 1999 Flair Showcase - [Base] - Row 1 #25 - Barry Bonds /1500 Courtesy of COMC.com 2002 Bowman Chrome Refractors - love the framing of foreground versus background, etching, and refractor shine 2002 Bowman Chrome - [Base] - Refractor #12 - Tsuyoshi Shinjo /500 Courtesy of COMC.com 2003 Topps Chrome Gold Refractors - of all the gold refractors I've owned, I like the way these pop the most 2003 Topps Chrome - [Base] - Gold Refractor #249 - Rich Aurilia /449 Courtesy of COMC.com

02-21-2023, 07:34 PM	#19
RookiesInTheRaw Member Join Date: Apr 2020 Location: North Carolina Posts: 504	Many good call outs already. Studio debuted during your early collecting years, so I would recommend tying that in with some 2004 Donruss Studio. I always loved how the background design is associated to the players' city--also boasts a much improved design from the original and super corny "glamor shot" images of the early 90s. Lastly, 1999 Flair Showcase is great quality and has a very nice design on thicker card stock--always seemed very high end and had a pretty good checklist

02-21-2023, 08:01 PM	#21
somethingclever Member Join Date: Jan 2018 Location: NEPA Posts: 402	1994 Upper Deck, 1995 Topps, there is a couple nice looking Stadium Clubs set as well. Really can’t go wrong with the last 5 years or so of Upper Deck IMHO. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk __________________ -Sam LTB:Topps Adam Frazier

02-21-2023, 08:36 PM	#22
Redbandit Member Join Date: Mar 2019 Location: Boston Posts: 556	1995 Stadium Club Ring Leaders - these cards are amazing in hand. One per box on average with the members only version being a tough pull. Believe it’s a 40 card set, my absolute favorite Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

02-21-2023, 09:23 PM	#24
Robles Fan Member Join Date: Feb 2021 Location: Northern VA Posts: 730	Hard to say. But I always thought 2000 Pacific Invincible looked pretty unique and cool. Also used to really dig 2000 Fleer Mystique and 2000 Fleer Ultra.

02-21-2023, 09:57 PM	#25
Astros19 Member Join Date: May 2015 Posts: 5,994	Some great sets mentioned. Can't go wrong with early Flair or Gold Label. I always like Upper Deck Ovation with the embossed baseball feel to the cards. Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk