Hello, I have recently returned to Sims 4 after a long break and would like to try out some mods to spice the game up a bit. I was wondering if there were maybe top 5 recommended mods, or something like that, to improve the game?

This is my personal list, and probably anyone will list other stuff they like and find them useful.

1. Mc Command Center
2, Wicked Whims
3. Extreme violence mod

Thank you for the suggestions!

Definitely MC Command Center.

I'd also add to the list:
4. Basemental Drugs
5. Fame Mod

Tons of roleplaying ability with these mods even if the gritty stuff isn't your cup of tea, most of it is not turned on for autonomy so you can choose when to use it and when not too. It's perfect for storytelling and making sims more fun. Like without these mods I wouldn't play TS4 at all. lol. Right now I have a sim who is a model and is battling drug addiction it's really intense and fun experience.

Can MC Command Centre enable story progression? And if so, how do I enable it? Thank you everyone for your mod suggestions, I'm looking at all of them

I don't use it, but the Pregnancy module for MC Command Center is what enables story progression.