I jumped into the hobby right around the Launch of 3.0 - so much so that well meaning friends and relatives on occasion bought me AD&D materials for the first year or so. I've come to treasure many of those books, because in their lack of focus on rules they had some awful information on play, setting, and PC/NPC generation. The Complete Book of Villains, in particular, is one I pull out with some regularity to browse for inspiration.
While I won't say that I'd go back and play under that system - I think I'm probably too immersed in the d20 system - the feel and tone of those games I hear people speak about resonates with me a great deal. One of my favorite aspects of Pathfinder (especially with my core game) is the ability to affect the world outside of simple modules. I tend to find the most pleasure in interacting with local cities and inhabitants, playing politics in the local mage's guild, networking with powerful NPCs, and (especially) diverting funds towards character projects like building homes, castles, schools, businesses, and so forth.
Hearing that you all had tons of coin and no magic items you were expected to run off and blow them on is music to my ears.