I would say 98. I bought one used in September for $2500. It was in great shape, well maintained (a guy I ride with knew the owner). The bike is great, I bought it on reccomendations I had heard from many people. I did come off of am 84 CR250, so I guess just about anything would be better... but I have ridden several 02 bikes and don't notice huge differences between mine and them. One thing about the KX is that it hardly goes through any gas - it goes a long, long time on one tank. I don't know about the other years.
The 95 thru 98's were basically unchanged frame and suspension wise. 95's and 96's had good, quick-revving low-end power, but they didn't keep pulling into the upper rpms. 97's and 98's have a different cylinder and make good power everywhere.
FWIW, I have a 97 that has many, many hours and has been all you can ask for in reliability. The suspension and power valve systems have a lot of parts, but get a manual and give them some TLC, unless it's trashed now, you should get a lot of use.
Stock, the 97 and 98 have a mid-range hit that helps a spode over obstacles. Or so I'm told. ;)
I own a 98 and have spent a lot of time on a 99. They are both good bikes. The 98 as OKKX'er stated does have more of a hit and I have grown to like this. The 99 is supposedly the smoothest motor of the 97-02 models and while it doesn't feel quite as strong as my 98, it is still and excellent motor. I don't have any experience with KX's older than 97 but I know that all of them from that year up have good suspension and predictable handling. Starting in 99 and running to 02 they had a different tank, shrouds, seat, fender and sub-frame. The only difference that I can tell when on the bike is that the seat isn't quite as comfortable (flatter with less padding). Just try and find one in good shape that hasn't been ridden into the ground and you should be happy with it. Good Luck.
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