Unfortunately, that is honestly a question you can only answer for yourself, as it boils down to your personal opinion of which game you prefer to play. Nothing against EQ2, but I cannot stand it. That mainly has to do with the fact that EQ2 uses the newer and (in my opinion) inferior yet prevalent paradigm in MMORPGs design that guides you through an "on the rails" type of leveling experience following breadcrumbs to the next "quest hub", etc. And that is totally and solely my *opinion* and *preference* in these type of games. By no means am I saying I'm right (in fact I am probably the outnumbered old fart!). There are numerous other nuances of original EverQuest that I just happen to prefer, too. I'm not being rude or attempting to preach my way of gaming, it's just how I like it.
Also, depending on you financial situation, as others have pointed out, buying whatever they call the "all access pass" now, and playing both of them is an option. Not to mention taking advantage of the Free - to - Play options I believe both games offer, you could dabble and experiment in both to help you decide. :-) I originally had the all access pass when I returned two years ago, but it didn't take me too long or cost too much at all to decide I wanted to play the original game excusively.