Selecting data from a table based on value in another table (SQL server)
The first query, i.e. using explicit JOINs, is generally the preferred way, and has benefits like:


verbosity
easier to read and maintain
less likely to have accidental cross joins


For more precise and detailed answers, see the answers to this question on SO (bearing in mind it is tagged mysql, it still is relevant for sql-server). Also read this related blog post by Baron Schwartz.