Having every issue of Ultimate Spider-Man in trade or otherwise is great. Watching the early career of Spider-Man without having to suffer the sixties and seventies lingo and trends.
To the more "modern" fan Ultimate Spider-Man is the guy for you. If you've been in the game a while, you will have some sort of fondness for the original. I know I do.
While nothing can replace the classics, Ultimate Spider-Man is quite consistent, and will not seem offensive if you are willing to accept that there are major alterations to the characters.
Consistent and clever is the name of the game. Witty dialogue and brilliant reimaginings of classic characters have kept me hooked since issue 21.