I am more so a Bat-family kind of guy, but I have bought a few issues of GA (to be fair, they had batman, redhood, and speedy, how could I resist). Ever since I was a kid, and I first watched Justice League Unlimited, and saw my first glimpse of GA's awesomeness, i never could get enough. When i started buying comics around a year and a half ago, i picked up a Green Arrow issue, and didnt really care for it. The redesign made him look younger than I am used to, and there was no sign of a Speedy, plus no mention of Roy (whom i am also a fan of even before RHTO). So i ignored the new series, and from what I can tell I was right to do so. But now, Jeff Lemiere, a very talented and popular writer, is taking over the series with a supreme artist Andrea Sorrentino, and they are even doing a bit of a reboot with his new 52 character even after the atrocious 0 issue. There is no way I am passing this up. But I have looked into the past trades, and some stories caught my eye but i am no expert on the subject so I would like some advice.

What trades should I pick up that feature the Emerald Archer?

I almost picked up a Green Arrow/Black Canary trade because it featured Mia Dearden as well as Roy, (i dont particularly care for Connor Hawke) I am also a huge fan of Dinah's and Oliver's relationship, so anything with that would also be appreciated.

but i didnt have the cash. Would that be a good place to start since it is relatively recent, or are there better stories such as Year One, that is better in quality?

To any reader fairly new to GA I'd suggest reading The Longbow Hunters, that's a must. For me and many others it's the greatest Green Arrow story ever. Also if you can track down Mike Grell's run, the first 80 issues, they're comic book gold. Other than that the Year One is a great story, and what else, maybe Quiver if you like the superhero fantastical elements, then yeah, and the second trade Sounds of Violence where he goes up against Onomatopoeia, that I also liked. After that, well, some stories were better and some truly awful. But all in all I'd recommend you to start with The Longbow Hunters.

@ApatheticAvenger: @Paul3001: thx guys, ill check those out!