Regardless of what kind of server you are running, survival, creative, minigames, or an SMP, a small set of plugins covers the core needs almost every server has. Here is the shortlist worth knowing about before you branch out into anything genre-specific.
EssentialsX
EssentialsX is close to a default install at this point, homes, warps, kits, teleportation, and a basic economy in one plugin. Almost every other list of recommended plugins starts here.
LuckPerms
LuckPerms is the standard permissions plugin, letting you build ranks with inheritance instead of granting permissions to individual players one at a time. See our guide to building a permissions system for a full walkthrough.
WorldEdit and WorldGuard
WorldEdit gives trusted staff fast building and terrain-editing tools, while WorldGuard protects specific areas with regions and flags. The two are built by the same team (EngineHub) and commonly installed together.
CoreProtect
CoreProtect logs block changes and player actions, letting you roll back griefing or accidentally destroyed builds instead of losing them permanently. This is close to essential for any server open to more than a small trusted friend group.
Vault
Vault is not a plugin players interact with directly, it is a shared economy API that lets EssentialsX and other economy-related plugins (shops, jobs, auction houses) all talk to the same underlying balance system instead of running separate, incompatible economies.
Rounding out the list based on your server type
This core set covers moderation, permissions, and protection, the parts almost every server needs regardless of theme. From here, what you add next depends heavily on whether you are running survival, an SMP, or something else, we cover the best plugins for survival and the best plugins for SMP servers separately.
Installing without the manual downloads
Tick Hosting's panel includes a one-click plugin installer covering every plugin on this list, so setting up the core stack takes minutes instead of hunting down individual jar files. Available on every plan, including the free tier, from Tick Hosting's plans page.