starting Fallout 4 for the first time. are there good mods?

Current Events

Some kind of minor/QoL ones that I use:

Vivid Weathers

WestTek Tactical Optics

Remove Ammo from Dropped Guns (saves you the trouble of picking up and dropping guns you don't want for the sake of taking the ammo out of them)

See Through Scopes

No NPC Greetings

Manufacturing Extended

Improved Maps with Visible Roads

FO4 Hotkeys

FAR - Faraway Area Reform

FallUI - Sleep and Wait

Enhanced Lights and FX

DEF UI

Carry More with Power Armor (if you're using backpacks or pocketed armor, Power Armor actually reduces how much you can carry, so this is mostly to counteract that)