Yes, the Superman of pre-1982 was better, not least because of the villains: Luthor, Brainiac, Terra-Man, Mxy, The Phantom Zone Villains, Metallo, Prankster, Toyman, Ultra-Humanite, Parasite, Kryptonite Man, CW Saturn, Toybee, Darkseid, Xviar [Mr. Xavier], Amalak, and the rest:
http://superman.nu/wiki/index.php/Category:VillainsPost '82? I don't envy you your choices, although there were some great bad guys right until Crisis, including Vandal Savage (under Wolfman). I think one of the big regrets that Superman fans have is that his Rogue's Gallery, while awesome, does not hold the same level of interest that Btaman's or the Flash's do, for whatever the reason. The vast majority of Superman villains were one-offs, it seems to me, and the Bronze Age under Bates and Maggin seemed to favour this formula. Wolfman and Perez created a better Rogue's Gallery for the Titans in the 80s than Superman ever got (although a bit gruesome for my current super-refined sensibilities: Brother Blood, Trigon, Brotherhood, Terminator --very 80s).
Iron Age?
Morrison's JLA villains were great (although maybe a bit too much for one man, however super he may be).