I've recently got Morrowind looking perfect using The Overhaul in conjunction with a couple of other mods

So next I set myself the task of making my clean oblivion install look as good as morrowind does now!

My issue is that there are so many mods doing the same thing that I've ended up with a buggy mess that looks (to me at least) no different from the vanilla game!

So my question, is what list of mods could I use together to get a 'morrowind overhaul' kind of change in oblivion, but without it going buggy (completely invisible water being the most annoying problem!)

I know a few obvious ones:

OBMM

OBSE

OBGE

Quarls Texture Pack

Bomrets Texture Pack

Darn UI

if anyone can help it would be appreciated

Well, everyone customizes Oblivion's visuals differently, so there's no definitive/essential list. That being said though, here's what I use personally, which may be useful to you:

Interface:

• DarkUId DarN
• Atmospheric DarkUI Loading Screens
• Colored Map
• Borderless Icons
• Coloured Enemy Health
• Shivering Isles Elven Map
• Better Dialog Buttons
• Let Me Mark It On Your Map

Items:

• Better Silverware
• Coffinbag's Better Vanilla Potions
• Cooked Steaks
• High Res Varla and Welkynd Textures
• Leviathan Soulgems

Environment:

• All Natural
• Awesome Sauce Reflection Maps
• Bomret's SI Texture Pack
• Better Blood
• Better Nightsky
• Enhanced Vegetation + High Res textures
• Falling Stars
• Harvest Flora
• HiRes Oblivion Textures
• Improved Fires and Flames
• Koldorn's Cave Textures
• Koldorn's Sewer Textures
• Mikal33's Improved Trees & Flora 2
• Natural Habitat
• QTP3 Redimized
• Real Lava
• Ultra-Realistic and Shafty Sunglare
• Skyrimized Waters
• Unique Signs

Now like I said, this is just what I personally like to use. Some people might think I'm crazy for not using OBGE, or think that some of my choices aren't good, so it's totally a matter of opinion.

If you are using QTP, then you should seriously look at the http://oblivion.nexusmods.com/mods/26038 version. 'Reduced' has removed 400+ files that were the same size or Larger than the textures included in QTP3-Redimized.

The tool 'http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/12801' performs "Textures Check, Fix, Compress, Improves Perfomance. Extra: Optimizer BSA." Many hi-res texture replacers are at 2048x2048 resolution, but will be just as beautiful at 1024x1024 and have less impact on your system. In that case, this tool gives you the ability to convert all the textures in a folder to the same resolution of either 512, 1024, or 2048. Very handy for combining some textures from different sources that come in different resolutions.

'http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/19337' is a utility designed to aid users in merging files from different texture replacement mods with previews and automatic copying of normal-maps, glow-maps, etc.

'PyFFI' is used to optimize meshes. (If you don't know the difference between meshes and textures, check out the TESTG 'General Information', Glossary, and Utilities pages, referenced below.) See the thread 'http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1402681-pyffi-getting-a-bit-overwhelmed' for the basics. Also 'http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1326044-pyffi-vs-nifopt-vs-bsaopt' to see about the alternatives.

Check out the thread 'http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1386133-which-tool-to-optimize-textures' for peoples experiences with them.

I've bookmarked probably 50 threads on the subject of 'graphics mods', most of which are collections of recommendations. Some the best of the most recent are:

'http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1381981-new-rig-new-decisions-texture-packs'

'http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1422172-best-graphic-overhauls-for-2012'

'http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1390645-best-graphical-mods' (helpful to know what to avoid if you do NOT have a powerful rig.)

'http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1431982-graphics-overhaul-mod-recommendation'

'http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1357172-alternative-to-qarls-texture-pack' (because QTP is often just too much of a system drain)

'http://tesalliance.org/forums/index.php?/topic/4187-list-johns-list-of-graphic-mods-for-mid-range-rigs' (on the TES Alliance site)

'http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1412599-skyrimized-cliffs-mountains-peaks-etc'

and of course 'http://testg.wikidot.com/main' as a general resource. Once you start browsing that site you will see there are a number of sub-categories of graphic texture mods. If you can narrow down the focus of your inquiry, you will probably get more useful recommendations.

-Dubious-

I am rather fond of Allurnig Potions (and Alluring Wines), when it comes to beautiful bottles, haha.

Otherwise, there are some excellent recommendations (and threads!) above. I would add the following thread to the list, most definitely: http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1170609-how-do-i-make-body-seams-as-unnoticeable-as-possible/ (it's very much a real issue, that seam thing).

Also, keep an eye on the Oblivion Character Overhaul thread that is at the top of the first page of this forum right now.

edit: Also, yes, OBGEc3 (including the "Water" addition) is absolutely vital, if you want Oblivion to look its best. However, ENB for Oblivion is currently under [re-]development, and looks promising. It might become a good alternative, quite soon. Worth having a look at, anyway.