[dreamless]

well, guess I should elaborate some more :

====================
top anime of all time

Mobile Battleship Nadesico - this one is currently IMO the only series that has managed to perfectly merge all kinds of anime elements together into a fantastic experience. There are comedy, depth, hot-blood action, serious philosophy, pure love romance, love triangle harem, parody, etc. etc. You name any element you can think of in an anime, and most likely it can be found in Nadesico. And to mix all these different and sometimes contradicting elements together smoothly is no easy task. Where FMP and GPM failed, Nadesico succeeded.

FLCL - a crazy parody show that actually has a lot of depth and emotional scenes. That's also something very rare. And Haruko RULEZ.

Kino no Tabi - I name it the introductory philosophy lecture anime. The stories are all so thought-provoking and you can keep thinking it over for deeper meaningly again and again and each time you could discover something new from different viewing perspectives. And Kino ROCKS!

Lain - it beats X-Files and Twilight Zone and anything else in the sci-fi mystery conspiracy thriller genre. This is definitely one of the most complex and confusing series. However when you piece everything together, it fits perfectly and makes perfect sense. Watching this show is like solving a very interesting puzzle.

Infinite Ryvius - the miniature human society show. It shows all kinds of darkness and struggles of all forms of human society, and how human nature functions under extreme situations. Very dark and disturbing at times.

RahXephon - a great and beautiful sci-fi romance drama with some heavy religious symbolism, imo this one is better than EVA and Saikano, with all the characters perfectly developed, the story very emotional and complex. It has some of the greatest and saddest scenes in all anime history ever.

====================
top anime of recent time

Gunslinger Girl - great atmosphere, great characters, great music, great ending. A wonderful and somewhat sad, albeit a bit short, series.

Kita He ~ Diamond Dust Drops ~ - great atmosphere, great characters, great music, great ending. The emotions are very real and the stories very heart-warming. Another nice little series that's very warm and touching.

Gungrave - they turned the mediocre plot in the game into a great godfather-like Mafia story! Brandon and Harry, true friendship between real men!

Texhnolyze - the worthy successor to Lain. Very good atmosphere and very engaging story. another grand dark sci-fi drama.

Koi Kaze - where KGNE failed, Koi Kaze succeed (that's my opinion anyway). Great realistic atmosphere and characters, the emotions and character development are simply so fantastically realistic.

Paranoia Agent - from the one who produced Perfect Blue and Millenium Actress, it's a very weird and surreal series. Merging fiction with reality, the story is full of twists and turns and always keeps one guessing.

Kikou Sennyo Rouran - a very unorthodoxical mecha anime with very complex story and character development. I give it some bonus points for the nice chinese mythological setting and great character designs.