They’ve been a favorite of mine for going on four decades now, though I do agree that they can be a bit on the less-than-dynamic side (“limp” is a little harsh, IMO).  The more progressive tracks, by and large, were provided by the late great Woolly Wolstenholme, who for better or worse was the George Harrison of the group, usually contributing one or two songs per album: In Search of England, Ra, Beyond the Grave, Sea of Tranquility, Moonwater.

Poor Man’s Moody Blues, was done as a joke of sorts, answering a critic’s label of them, but it’s now rightly recognized as one of their classics.

John Lees: definitely an underrated guitarist.  He absolutely smokes on the live Medicine Man.

EMI did a bang-up job with the reissues of their first four albums, with tons of bonus tracks, mostly singles tracks and BBC recordings, some of songs that don’t have studio counterparts.  The first especially is like a treasure hunt.

The first one I ever bought was Octoberon, which is still my favorite (though perhaps tied with Once Again).