[jchcollins]

In the 1950's I like '56 the best - the combo of design and color just makes for a superior production quality. And those cartoons on the back are killer. I also like 1959 Topps. Just a very 50's feel to it to me with the colors, bubbles, and slant lower case names and logos.

In the 1960's I like 1962, 1963, 1965 with the flags, and '67 for the photos and clean design. I could do without '61 and '64 and '66 for the most part, though they are not horrible. Same with '68 and '69.

In the 70's, '71 is kind of it's own animal, but I love it. One of my few complete vintage sets. The first year Topps shifted to using action photos as part of the base card image - those things had to have taken young boys quite by surprise when they ripped into the packs for the first time in the spring. I also love the '72 psychos for the crazy colors and gothic, almost dripping team names. It fits the era very well. Beyond that in the 70's, I like 1976 and the caricature-like position player depictions. I don't like my birth year set ('77) that much.