Van Gogh Museum
Open daily 10am to 6pm (Fridays until 10pm)
Ten euros (no student price)
If you plan on hitting lots of museums in the Netherlands, buy the museumjaarkaart. It usually pays for itself after only two or three museums.
The Van Gogh collection is one of Amsterdam's highlights, in my opinion--it is the largest collection of Van Goghs in the world. The museum is laid out so well--it's easy to go through and see everything without having to backtrack or worry that you missed something. The paintings are in chronological order, and you can get a very good feel for how he progressed as an artist. Of special interest are The Potato Eaters and Sunflowers.
The museum also includes his letters, as well as the works of other artists so that you can compare him to his influences.
The second floor is home to a fantastic study room complete with books and computers so you can find out more about Van Gogh and art in general.
The bad news: it's summertime, folks. I went on a Saturday and this place was terribly crowded. It was hard to get close to the paintings, hard to read the captions, and you couldn't help but feel rushed along as you tried to make room for other visitors. If you're visiting in the summer, you've got no choice--tough it out. But if you have a choice of when to travel--go in the spring, fall, or winter, and skip the crowds.