Hey, I'm looking to play through the first then import my character into the second one and was wondering if there are any "essential" mods about? like stacking potions, higher resolution and such. suggestions would be appreciated :)

The ones I consider essential are Tutu/EasyTutu, BG2 Fixpack, BG2 Tweak Pack, and Widescreen mod.

I think the NPC project mod for BG1 is essential if you enjoy dialogue and character interaction.

I'm not too bothered about the interaction with random npc's, but I'll look into the other ones, cheers :)

Spellhold Studios
Gibberlings3

Those two sites have alot of the good mods I find. The BG1 NPC banter pack is for the party members as opposed to random NPCs you meet on the way (NPC refers to companions in the Baldur's Gate games strangely enough).

I have to highly put in my recommendation for the BG1 NPC project. It really does make the party feel much more alive, and the team did a very good job on the dialogue. It's probably why I am so damn attached to my BG1 party and wish the ones without mention got even a nod in BG2, because the modders brought so much life to the companions, and even do a pretty good job of tying things that happen in BG2 back into BG1 (Imoen's class change for example).