As a general rule of thumb new shooters tend to like heavier springs and more experienced shooters prefer lighter ones. A heavy spring lessens the impact of the slide as it hits the frame, making the gun feel like it is kicking less. A light spring lessens the sight movement when the slide goes back into battery, making the sight picture easier to track. The way you percive recoil has more to do with what spring feels better than any real difference it makes in the gun.

There is a point of diminishing returns with light springs. Wile a 8 or 9lb spring will give you very minimal sight movement as the slide returns to battery it can make the slide cycle 'choppy'. I prefer not to feel the cycling of the slide when shooting so I run a little heavier spring in my 9mm. My general preference is 15-16lbs for a 45, 12lbs for a 9mm/38S and 13-14lbs for a 40S&W.