Higher construction rate - Yes
Power plants, to get better engine tech - Yes, at least up to Ion asap
Higher research rate - Yes
Higher mining rate - Yes
Engine Power +5/10/15% - not really that important for newbies.
Missile reload rate - Yes
Small jump gate - Depends on if you find a nearby, safe system that you can connect you, that you need to exploit easily.
Improved Command and Control (to build a Sector Command HQ) - Yes
Missile Engines, whenever you develop a new engine tech - Yes
EM Sensitivity -Yes, but also grav strength, since Sensititivy increases it by a square root factor, while strength increases linearly (if I remember the equation correctly.
Also:
Shipyard construction rate
Fuel Efficiency tech
Jump engine efficiency
Missile warhead and manu tech if you're using missiles as primary armaments, otherwise you chosen beams + tracking speed, turret tech, reactor.
Armor and shield tech
As you can see, almost all tech is quite important, there isn't any real "top" tech. There is tech that will be useful no matter what though, which would be your mining/construction rates, anything improving engines, sensors and research rate. Everything else is useful but relatively situational.