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I find the advice odd.  My wife and I have found the post essentials classes we have tried rather lacking.  Why try to tell anyone entering into 4e to avoid anything pre-essentials?  There is plenty of good stuff pre-essentials.

The author of the article gives terrible advice overall.  About the only thing I agree with is that you should get the monsters vault, the rules compendium, and the settings books and ddi is good for a group to have.

The idea that you should not get or use PHB1 or 2 classes is shamefully bad advice.  The sole exception that you can get the updated PHB1 classes for free online so it would be ok if he had recommended that and then buy PHB2 or at least get that material from DDI, but he doesn't even mention that those PHB1 freebies are available for the taking.

Most of the best classes and paragon paths, both in terms of fun and effectiveness, in the game are in those two books.  PHB3 is another decent addition and the power books are good additions, but the key point is the best stuff in the game is all pre essentials.

If you follow his advice you will hardly have any access to enabling leaders such as the warlord or shaman.  The warpriest and skald can enable, but he does not even recommend the books that have the skald or the book that makes the warpriest a good enabler.  Enabling leaders are one of the biggest advances that 4E had.  The advice is especially bad since he does recommend you have the essentials classes like the slayer and thief that work so well with them.

I loved the pre-Essentials material passionately but I do agree that the Essentials era material is more balanced and polished. In light of D&D Next, the abandonment of 4th edition, the current goal of retro creationism within D&D, I'd give anything to have more Essentials related material to be released- especially some Monster Vaults. I hated Essentials because it went down a direction I didn't want 4th to go. Now- just give me some 4th material before D&D Next. At least with the ending of 3.5 they released campaign epic ending books- give us an Epic DMG, an Epic Monster Vault and then call me non-bitter.

Im actually starting a campaign using solely the Essentials line (DM kit, HotFL, HotFK, Monster Vault, Rules Compendium, and the three tile sets). It's enought to get my four friends to level 22 without running out of material (mostly monster token, which oddly the Monster Vault is lacking for epic tier).

The article is dead on- there's enough material just in the Essentials line to last a couple years.

Essentials is really not that balanced and a lot of the classes are flat out poorly designed.  While there are a few evenly and well built classes like the knight and slayer a lot of the essentials stuff is underpowered even when just compared to other essentials classes.  You can make a fairly strong PC out of almost all the pressentials classes without hybridding, excepting the assassin.  That is true a lot less with essentials classes.

The sentinel is the worst of the leader builds even when just compared to the warpriest and skald.  An ogmha warpriest in particular will blow it out of the water in effectiveness in late paragon even if you limit yourself to only essentials materials, but its not even that close before then.  Any of the preessentials leaders is better.

Cavalier is the worst defender, even when just compared to the Knight.  The preessentials defenders are all a lot better.

The binder is the worst controller.  The mage is a lot better, as are the preessentials controllers.  Regular Warlocks and even the lowly seeker is a little better at this point.  Witches, bladesingers, and sha'ir are all weaker than the Mage and Arcanist.

Vampire and blackguard are fairly weak strikers.  Again several of the essentials ones like the slayer and thief are better and almost all the preessentials ones are a lot better excepting the assassin.