As someone who has never read X-Men, is there an easy reading list to start with?

I tried searching through ComicBookHerald for a reading order list, but everything he has posted in regards to X-Men has a formula like this:

Mainline X-Men series #1-#??? Branching X-Men subplot series #246-#300 Seven random sub-series that have vague connections to X-Men itself, but for some reason must be read in order with it

I'd like to have a list that constricts me to read only the essentials of the series, and not a messload of issues that do nothing to further the plot. I'm sorry if I'm overcomplicating this at all, but I've rarely used comics as a medium for entertainment.