Zestar has a lot of good feedback from what I have read! And I nees to add it to my list 
These are apples I know from my own experience that can be wonderful, not in any order:
Kidd’s Orange Red
Cox’s Orange Pippin
Rubinette
Karmijn de Sonnaville
Calville Blanc
Macoun
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I have heard about several of these from here and have the Cox and Calville scions to be grafted this year
Thanks for the list @marknmt
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I think I’ll hold off trying Zestar…waiting to sample Keepsake and one numbered scion someone sent, plus more Honeycrisp and Frostbite. Oh, and is Spartan from UMN? Anyhow, I have several of theirs. And saved seeds from SweetTango.
Somewhere between 90 and 100 varieties after this grafting season. Currently have 45 plus 30 red-fleshed.
So, I don’t know what my favorite is. Nor what it will be.
I like Fuji, but I also like variety. When mine all bear a few fruits, I’ll have VARIETY for sure!
Of the approximately 20 (not counting store bought apples)….of the ones I’ve grown, Fuji is still the winner so far for fresh eating and keeping.
I’ll have to say, I plan to buy more Sweet Tango at the market sometime soon…best of the ‘club’ apples that I have sampled…and I’ve sampled most.
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90 to 100 varieties! I have quite a bit to go to ever reach that 
I do like a good Fuji apple and wished mine would actually bear something this year 
I need to really work that tree and fertilize it or something… It seems to not want to grow at all. I may end up grafting it to another rootstock by next year and see if it does any better 
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i had as msny as 60 varieties at one time…many probably wholly unsuitable for my site and m as management scheme(almost total neglect).
Have abandoned or removed most of them
Only MonArk and Centennial, Kerr, and Bastian Orange crabs get picked or eaten by us.
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A very good question. I started with just two trees – Crimson Topaz and Sweet Sixteen. I looked for good disease resistance and contrasting tastes - one sweeter (Sweet Sixteen), one more tart (Topaz).
Been very happy with this choice. I should say both ripen about the same time (mid-Sept. zone 5b) so you may be interested in an earlier + later ripening variety for successive crops. That said both Topaz and Sweet Sixteen should store fairly well – that is if and when I get enough to store. My 5 year old trees yielded 6 apples each last season and were consumed in very short order 
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Both great sounding varieties I thought Topaz was a club apple 
glad to hear it isn’t (well unless you are in the club…? ) @dw235
I may have a different variety that I am thinking of though.
I don’t believe it is, at least not to my knowledge. I bought mine from a nursery in Ontario in 2016… I have not seen it for sale since. Linked is a good description of the variety from orangepippen. Orangepippen have put a registered symbol on the word ‘Crimson’. The Crimson Topaz is a redder sport of Topaz. It could be mine is just Topaz and not the Crimson sport… either way the apple is red enough for me 
Apple - Topaz - tasting notes, identification, reviews
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I second Zestar, a good early season apple. My 3 year old tree fruited last year. It had 3 fruit, but unfortunately they were damaged by yellow jackets. But the undamaged parts were still very good. The tree has been pretty precocious on G30 rootstock. It blooms really early, though, so make sure it’ll have other early bloomers for pollination.
We got a tree after tasting some at an orchard four years ago. To me it’s Honeycrisp lite, very crisp, and a good balance of sweet/tart. But, it’s much easier to grow than HC.
Also recommend Golden Russet, its flavor reminds me of Gold Rush, maybe a bit sweeter off the tree. Has a crunchy texture, and altho it’s russeted, you hardly notice it. Sadly, my GR tree has languished for 4 years, so I’m moving it.
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Ok. So you are in Canada, cool I will check that variety out as I like the name if nothing else 
Guess Zestar needs to be added to the list
I have a Goldrush scion coming so hopefully I can do well with it but if not then Golden Russet may be the direction I need to go with.
Either one is very good, they are in my top 5. Golden Russet has an advantage though, in that it’s a mid season variety, so it doesn’t need as long to properly ripen.
But, it’s not nearly as long a storer (maybe 6 weeks?) as Goldrush, which can keep into spring in the right conditions.
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Good to know some about both of these varieties!
I suspect the must haves vary a lot by region.
We all know an apple can be amazing when grown in one place but meh when grown elsewhere. For zone 5 northern Illinois I love williams pride for an early apple. And zestar here seems to vary in quality from year to year. When it’s at its best, it has been among the best apples I’ve tried. The flavor is good but the texture, when ideal, is amazing.
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Yes, I have thought of this but still it makes for good conversation and who knows, it may grow better in my area than in someone else’s even if they think it is great in their area
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Definitely! I just meant that it helps me when people give their growing region. For example, I’m going to try cox orange pippin in my area because I’ve heard it can grow well even a few hours away from me, in more moderate microclimates. But I know it’s not likely to produce as well for me (hot summers, lots of disease pressure). That’s all.
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Gotcha I am in 6b but right on the edge of 7a and I totally want to know if something won’t grow here at all just because of the zone but many varieties grow well over several zones and it for sure is helpful when other people grow it close to me with success!
Yes - Northern Spy is an excellent all-purpose apple. I grow a seedling of it called Sandow (available through St. Lawrence Nurseries). Sandow runs larger than it’s parent and appears to be a bit more disease resistant.
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