I love every single Metroid game, but you can avoid the NES one.
2 is great, Super is one of the best games ever, Prime 1's one of the best 3D games ever, P2 and P3 are a little lacking compared to it. Hunters was good back in the day, but if anyone's still playing it online, I'd be surprised. The actual story for it is kinda boring.
Fusion is a bit underrated IMO, and Zero Mission completely replaces 1 by so much. Other M is very hit or miss for people. I liked it and I think you should at least give it a try.
--
http://backloggery.com/shados
http://last.fm/user/ShadosNeko