I definitely recommend Reply 1994, it's actually my favorite of the three (though I am in the minority there). It still has the balance of slice of life, humor, angst, etc. that Reply 1997 had so you don't need to worry about it being overly heartbreaking. People were mostly upset because they disagreed with the end pairing, and the show is of course constantly dropping misleading hints so you have no idea until the end who the end pairing actually is. That being said, I thought the romances were handled incredibly well and realistically, and the show did all of the characters justice (I found it less predictable than Reply 1997 so that might be why I preferred it slightly). I would also recommend Reply 1988, though I found the ending of that one to be the most unsatisfying of the three (not because of the pairing, but more how it was handled), however the rest of the drama is impeccable and the focus is a lot less on the romance and more on the entire neighborhood.
Also, some of my other suggestions (just because you are open to others and our tastes seem similar, though I tried to keep it out anything too angsty) would be: Pinocchio, Kill Me Heal Me, Greatest Love, and I Remember You.
