Check the post linked below for a nice list of servers with decent descriptions and links to move forums/websites related to the servers:
http://www.eqemulator.net/forums/showthread.php?t=24875
There are quite a few really nice servers out there. It all depends on what you want. It sounds like you might like a custom server since they will have fast progression in most cases and many will let you get really nice gear without having to invest an insane amount of time. They all differ from live as far as many quests, NPCs, items that are created custom or have been changed from how they were on live.
You can get a pretty good idea of which servers are liked the most by looking at the ones that have more player numbers on them. The servers with (CEQ) in the name are chinese, so you might want to avoid them. Accept for KMRA, which I think uses CEQ, but was written in english originally, so it has both. Pretty much any server with more than 2 or 3 players on it is probably worth checking out.
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