Option 2:

Dark Marshland by Moonblaze download

This was the first entry that I got, and I was really impressed by it! It was exactly what I was looking for in a tileset for option 2. Didn't have a single gradient, had all the necessary tiles, and a lot of effort into a nice background with the extra tiles. I was pretty sure this was a winner through most of the contest, but it got beaten by a later entry. Can't really find anything bad about the set to comment on, good job!

Grassland Paradise by Another Jazz 2 Fan download

If i'm not mistaken AJ2F had to draw his tileset in paint, which is a great feat on its own. However, that leaves the tileset to look very 'MSPainty' with very little to do to make it look otherwise. The textures could be better, but once again thats part of the limitations to paint. If there were any real improvements that could've been done not regarding paint issues I think more background eyecandy would be better.

Fluff for Thought by Toxic Bunny download

I don't know if this is christmas themed or not, I think it's somewhere on the border, but I can say one thing for sure though, this tileset is fluffy! The design of the tileset isn't bad, has a nice range of background and foreground eyecandy aswell, but the main problem I have is the lack of colour. Everything in layer 4 is white (excluding the tubes). Some multicoloured fluff would look better (but be harder to make with 16 colours).

Small Factory by Violet CLM download

We all love colour reduction in programs like Paint Shop Pro, until it goes wrong. This set is a good example of that. The background eyecandy looks great, but the actual tiles in layer 4 suffered a lot from colour reduction. Tilesets should be fairly balanced, and a ba;ance in quality between the tiles is no exception.
Just got an idea on this set, the yellow platforms could be made thinner, that always smooths out the gradient.
I'm curious to see the normal version of this, I'm sure its great

Rootalopicus by ET download

This isnt a great set, this is an AMAZING set! Really I've decided to leave the best for last this time, this is by far the competition (and Option 2+ 3) winner. FOUR different colour hues were used, each with only four colours, and when you look at the tileset you cant even notice it. I checked three times to make sure there weren't any extra colours, and had to zoom in on the tileset by a considerable amount just to notice the four different colours. The whole tileset is smooth, and the detail put into the textures and drawings such as the branches (that I have almost mistaken for being Jungle brances at first sight) are amazing! The example level is also great for showing it all off, so many possibilities. This is a MUST DOWNLOAD. Way above my expectations, and could even compete as a great tileset against normal tilesets with no limitations. Congrats to you ET!