The Sims 3 guide is very well structured for the amount of information it holds. It also serves as a buyer's guide to the game, helping you choose which to buy based on major features of the Expansion. This list's primary role is to link you to more information about each expansion and stuff pack. Thankfully the Sims 3's Game Launcher does a fine job quickly importing new content.
If you're someone who has loads of addons and custom content, you will likely find this a big headache.
It seems to help to make the game more stable when you do so, as no other content will be interfering with the Sims 3 base game. Many of the Simmers at our forum like to do a clean reinstall of their games whenever they buy a new expansion. You should install your game's EPs and SPs in the order they were released whenever you are forced to reinstall the game. TS3's Expansions work independently of one other and combine all their game additions, so you are free to mix and match them, along with the Stuff Packs (SP). There are a total of eleven Expansion Packs released for The Sims 3, with no more coming - we are awaiting The Sims 4! They are all themed, and will bring a particular flavor of additions to your Sims 3 games. The Sims 3 Expansion Packs List Expansion and Stuff Pack Gameplay Features