So it seems that many links listed in the sticky threads are broken. I just want a decent fresh texture package that all works together. I am not looking for anything crazy, just something to spruce up the graphics... recommendations? Also I just installed Oblivion through Steam.. is there anything I should know about modding a steam game?

There is no single texture pack for everything. "Fresh" might not necessarily yield the best results either. Qarl's Texture Pack III (QTP3) is still number one for many Oblivion players, because it is relatively hi-res and covers a lot of ground all in one go. The download size alone should tell you that.

So many little areas can be replaced though, so in order to cover it all, a variety of mods is required.

At mod sites, screenshots are generally presented, so you need not download before viewing.

Thanks. I know there are a lot of different mods out there, I just needed a good jumping off point. I will check out Qarl's.

Does the Oblivion graphics extender help alot?

The cheeky (yet accurate) answer is: "That depends on you!"

More helpfully, I hope... It provides you with a set of shaders that you can use any number of, and tweak to suit. Some of them outright improve image quality, such as some form of anti-aliasing, and probably screen-space ambient occlusion too. Most, however, are purely a matter of taste - they modify, without objectively boosting clarity, increasing resolution, or anything like that. WIthout a doubt though, OBGE Liquid Water is a vast improvement upon "vanilla" water, and in fact, surpasses any other water modification to date. By far.

First... I went... HERE - http://devnull.sweetdanger.net/worldqtp2.html

Then I scrolled down the page, until I saw QTP2 Parallax Installation/Activation for 256Mb Video Cards.

Then I downloaded everything and followed the instructions. It had very little impact on my frame rate, and it looks great. That, combined with All Natural and it's excellent lighting enhancements, the game look amazing and it still runs without a hitch.

Look here: http://devnull.sweetdanger.net/obliviontextureoverhaul.html