AD&D 2e Player's Options: Spells & Magic 

It's interesting the older editions requires you to engage in at least a little roleplaying BY making it part of some class mechanics. I sort of feel that's been lost in newer editions.

I might be in a minority, but I actually like the character point system in many respects--it allows for character customization on a pretty granular level and it forces you to make key decisions about who your character is, how they came by these skills, etc. You're not just a generic fighter or a generic mage or a generic priest or thief. The downside is that character creation takes a lot longer. But the character's main abilities can still be distilled down to a set of stats that can be on one sheet of paper--spell casters require two sheet of paper or front and back--given they need spell lists.

There are a ton of 2nd edition settings, lots to choose from. I have a good Dark Sun Collection, never played it but for a number of years it was my guilty collecting pleasure. We never went all in on 2nd Edition. We mostly mined stuff from it for our AD&D games. One of my current players in my C&C game is a huge 2nd edition fan.