I enjoyed the run more than the regular Amazing Series. It hit the sweet spot for me from the 30's to around 100.

Spectacular was "my" Spidey comic when it came out. One that I was able to start with the very 1st issue and continue collecting from there on in. And remember, it was meant at the time to be more focused on Peter Parker and his cast of thousands more than upon the life of Spider-Man. So yes, it was a bit slower in action and more devoted to story and characterization. A really good start though with Sal Buscema on art duties for those 1st 20 issues and then a bit of solid stories when Jim Mooney set in as the regular artist. Another good round of art during the early 80's from Al Milgrom and then Our Pal Sal's re-energized return in '87 for a nearly 7 year run. Are these SPECTACULAR stories? Most may not be so, but they are VERY GOOD and entertaining adventures with some really GREAT and memorable stories along the way. 

This is the first Spidey series that I collected and read when I first got into comics in the early 2000's.

The artwork through the first 20 issues or so is fantastic. Great stuff. Story wise, however, you won't find anything to write home about. For me, the series was a little more focused on Peter's life and balancing it with Spider-Man. We also got to better explore the people around Peter in a bit more detail, which was nice. It is still a fun read though, even if it did introduce/utilize some lame villains (Lightmaster, Hate Monger, Cyclone). It was a solid mix of humour, drama and action and it worked for me as a reader. I viewed it as Spidey's slower days in terms of who he was battling...like in between the big fights with major villains, he dealt with life and fought some lesser villains, usually with ease. Around the time Frank Miller comes in and we see the Daredevil/Carrion arc it picks up a bit more and gets stronger story-wise all the way until the Sin-Eater run (#109-118 or so if memory serves). In between there are some great stories with Owl/Doc Ock, his relationship with Black Cat and others. After issue #120 is where my knowledge of the series limits itself. I did enjoy the return or Carrion and him teaming up with Hobgoblin (around issue 160?) and Harry taking over the Green Goblin mantle (around issue 180) which also tied in Vermin. Those were great. The Tombstone/Robbie Robertson stuff that manifested between issues #120-160 I am less familiar with. Kind of the only portion of the first 200 issues from this series that I have not read and do not own.

Thee's a fair helping of good art throughout (though I don't care for Sal B's Spidey) but it's kinda mediocre, story-wise, except when Roger Stern is writing it. I reeeeeally don't like Bill Mantlo's work here, mostly because I loathe Black Cat, with the exception of the stories introducing/featuring Cloak and Dagger. I stopped following it after the Sin-Eater storyline, partly because I was pissed they killed Jean DeWolff but mostly because I dropped out of comics completely at that time (mid-'86).

Cei-U!
I summon the shrug!

Back then only Superman and Batman had 2 or more titles that they starred in. It was nice to have another Spider-Man title. However it must have been forgettable stories since I don't remember any memorable ones.

I haven't read any of these in probably 30+ years...likely since I bought then off the spinner racks. Even when I was doing a fairly extensive Spider-Man re-read (when the Essentials came out) I never made it to PPTSS. I can say that at the time I liked the early issues well enough. I bought them in roughly even amounts as Amazing. I think they hit a good mixture with PPTSS focusing a bit on Peter's friends and private life and Amazing (at the time) focusing a bit more on the big foes. Whether I'd still feel that way now is another question entirely.

Spectacular Spider-Man ... I have never read any of these books and probably the only Spider-Man book I never amount to read and I'm surprised by that; I had lunch with my dear friend Jeff and he told me that I did even bothered with it with the 30 years going to his LCS.