Since I never really used them in X3e, (Toontrack user) and seeing that the Fairfax seemed to be the best kit, but you had to buy it...
So...would Fairfax, BLack Velvet be two top choices?   and a 3rd might be...??

That is probably depends on your personal preferences, go to XLN Audio's webpage and listen to the demos. I have Fairfax 1 and it is probably my favorite right now. Black Velvet seems to be very popular. I am going to pick it up when I get Platinum along with either Fairfax 2, Metal, or Session Percussion.  (I like to add percussion though it comes out cheesy. My 8yr son likes heavy metal so I though I make a few things for him).

I grabbed Fairfax 1 for straight rock and pop sounds. It is an impressive kit that's proving quite versatile. It seems like the type of kit that you could probably sneak into just about anything...
 
I also nabbed Black Velvet, which has you covered for 90's grunge and heavy rock sounds of the same era. *It's hard for me to program with it though, because I keep getting distracted by a thick wall of nostalgia every time it starts to play!*  Love the sounds though!
 
And lastly I commandeered Retroplex. It wasn't a kit that I thought I would be grabbing? But when I heard one of the sound examples that was just total, "Grab your crutch and slap someone near you, stadium rock!"?... I was sold!!!

I am thinking about Retroplex and the two Fairfax kits (mainly because of all the favourable comments). I am not sure what this will add on top of my miriad of FXPansion and Toontrack kits, but nothing really jumped out as filling a hole. Retroplex looked just that little different.
 
I wish someone would sample Carl Palmer's steel kit (if it still exists)

I can imagine the list will vary wildly depending on musical tastes.  I am still deciding.  I am sure  i will get the vintage dry and am also leaning towards session percussion and jazz brushes

dubdisciple
I am sure I will get the vintage dry.

The Vintage Dry is definitely one that has that little bit of magic warmth in it. Directly A/B-ing it against other options reveals its worth! Not sure if it's the kit, the rooms, the mics or XLN's dark arts? Maybe it's all of the above?... Has gotten a lot of use by me, for sure!

I had upgraded to ad2 plus 1 kit for 119 (internal 3 kits plus the funk kit ).l like all the kits but I have say I like funk kit the most. I had used sd2 in my production and very happy with it. CW did a very good move to include ad drums in the package. Really looking forward to the upgrade . If I am correct the new sonar platinum will get you the sd2 professional package which will include 3 adpaks. But you still need to fork out another 80 in order to update your sd1 internal 3 kits (or any ad1 adpaks) into sd2 compatible drum kits. Can someone verify that?

musichoo
If I am correct the new sonar platinum will get you the sd2 professional package which will include 3 adpaks. But you still need to fork out another 80 in order to update your sd1 internal 3 kits (or any ad1 adpaks) into sd2 compatible drum kits. Can someone verify that?

The AD Producer Bundle kits include the AD2 engine. Which means you can sill utilise the kits without having to update to the full AD2.
 
But if you want to be able to use your old midi packs and AD1 kits, in AD2? Then you need to upgrade!

So, since I never bought any adpaks and just bought a slew of midi packs for 10 bucks each, in my case it's kinda stupid to pay $79 to make them usable in AD2 which kinda sucks...especially since they won't let me rebuy them with the platinum credits... they just have an "upgrade" button by them...  for 79 or $119!
 
which means I can only use my midi pak credits for paks I obviously didn't want as I didn't get them before....  arrrrrg... not worth the money or am I missing something?  as I read their faq, they said the internal sounds from AD1 were divided up into other adpaks!

Royal Yaksman

dubdisciple
I am sure I will get the vintage dry.

The Vintage Dry is definitely one that has that little bit of magic warmth in it. Directly A/B-ing it against other options reveals its worth! Not sure if it's the kit, the rooms, the mics or XLN's dark arts? Maybe it's all of the above?... Has gotten a lot of use by me, for sure!

thanks.  i figured it was a good one based on the demos, but your confirmation helps seal the deal.