This is sort a “desert island” list: if pressed for time and/or space in your hypothetical font bag you are stranded with, what typefaces would you pack? I’ll go first with some preferences for body text, not headline fonts.
I’d love to hear comments, moreover I’d like to hear of your own Essential Typeface List, with reasons why!

•Times New Roman is so common and so overused, I don’t think I’ve used it in almost ten years. When I want a clean serif typeface that is open and easy to read from 10-14 points when printed, I use

•Palatino—It’s very open, the counters aren’t blocked in, and the snub-serif provides a modern look. It’s overused, but fonts go in and out of fashion, and I believe Palatino is a classic.

•Garamond—there are two schools of preference with Garamond; those who believe ITC ruined the digital version because Tony Stan increased the x-height from the original designed by Claude Garamond. If you can find Garamond 3, it’s lighter in weight and more faithful to the original. Either way, Garamond is eco-friendly when used in books—it uses less ink than sentences cast in Times.

• Galliard-I really like this font created by Matthew Carter (of Carter and Cone, who also created Georgia). It has extended, almost exaggerated serifs, and the italic version is a piece of artwork. It’s almost equivalent in weight to Times, so it’s not an ink saver, and produces a medium “page color” when viewing a page cast in 11-12pt. at a distance.

• Trump Medieval—It’s more dense than Palatino, it has snub serifs, but the serifs are more pronounced and extended than Palatino. It’s great for older eyes (!) and can be used for formal occasions, text in books, wedding announcements, and so on.

•Adobe Minion—This guy has a lot of family members, and it’s a little similar to the original Garamond 3, but it’s heavier.

•Albertus—It’s stiff, and classic, and somber. This isn’t a typeface you use all the time, but Albertus has a real specific “attitude”, and you just need to find the right occasion to use it.

I'll try to come back soon and provide a list of tasty headline fonts.

My Best,

Gary