First, I am not a big fan of skateboarding (or the X-games genre). I respect the people that can do it (especially for a living), seen it on TV every once in a while, but have no interest in it, but I have played every version of Tony Hawk for the Dreamcast, GBA, PSX, and PC. With all of that said, THPS3 for the PS2 is phenomenal. The best version yet. The only reason I would have anything to do with skateboarding.
The graphics are perfect, frame rate is perfect, sound effects are perfect, and the soundtrack is perfect.
This game is a definite buy even if you're not a fan of this genre.