I don’t consider myself a collector, but I do have several Tarot decks (and I read from each of them, from time to time). These are a few of my own personal favorite decks.
My first deck was the “garden variety” Rider deck. It’s the one that I recommend others start with as well. It’s about as basic as you can get, and inexpensive, but it shuffles well and has all of the familiar imagery from A.E. Waite and Pamela Colman Smith. If there’s a “standard” Tarot deck in our age, this is it.
The deck that I read from most days is the Radiant Wise Spirit deck from Lo Scarabeo. It is a borderless version of the Rider-Waite-Smith deck printed on lovely stock in rich, gorgeous colors. The coloration has an elegance about it that makes it a pleasure to view.
Author and teacher Vincent Pitisci has recently created a new version of the Tarot of Marseille that looks lovely. He used a warmer palette than is customary on Marseille decks, and appears to have given a great deal of thought to the smallest details.
I also love the Conver Ben-Dov Tarot de Marseille. It was the first Marseille deck that I ever owned and learned to read. It shuffles like a dream, and has all of the quality and charm that this classic deck of cards deserves.
What’s your favorite deck?