what is the best anime in your eyes?

there are no wrong answers i only ask so i can find some good anime to start watching....and please don't judge me i was bored
in my eyes some good anime's are D.N.Angel, Durarara, Phantom requirem for the Phantom, and Axis Powers Hetalia

I enjoyed Sora no Otoshimono and Sora no Otoshimono Forte.

Well I cant help but like a bit (lot) of ecchi comedy myself (Maburaho, Rosario etc) which my wife and kids are a little dismayed about, but I think that the best anime I have watched and which I am not embarrassed to like is the Natsume Yuujinchou series. But then as a family we are fans of the Ghibli firms, at Natsume is in that vein.

Dragon Ball ZZZZZZ!!

^-^

Instead of including Naruto / Bleach / Once Piece / random Shounen Anime that gets recommended every time in threads like this, I'll point you in the directon of some other great series.

Kaiji
Baccano!!
Hanasaku Iroha
Cromartie High School
Code Geass

As you alluded to, everyone's taste is different, but I would suggest Noein, Eden of the East (I loved the TV episodes but didn't really care for the movies), Air Gear, Angel Beats!, and Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day.

Oh, I totally forgot two more series in my previous list!

Space Brothers
Sword Art Online

Chobits
Kino's Journey
Cowboy Bebop
You're Under Arrest!

okay thanks i going to leave this up here plus i love Naruto, Eden of the East, Bleach, Air Gear, & Angel Beats

I was lucky enough to see Akira in the cinemas when it was released, so for me Akira will always be "the best". At the time Anime was basically unheard of in my country and Akira, both from a technical viewpoint and from a storyline, was incredible compared to what we traditionally thought of animated films (ie Disney). I still re-watch it and there are still many scenes in there that I find amazing.

Of course, it is old now and only one movie but it would get my vote.

Grumpy Jiisan know that very well.
http://grumpyjiisan.wordpress.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/GrumpyJiisan

Series: Claymore, Clannad, and Astroboy (all time favourite from childhood).
Movies: Barefoot Gen, Summer Wars, Wolf Children, the usual Studio Ghibli favourites.

Admittedly, there's a bucket load of anime we've only seen a little of thus far, and some we haven't started either. They're mostly horror/thriller/supernatural, e.g. Death Note, High School of the Dead, Shiki, Ga-Rei-Zero, etc. Other than that, Welcome to the NHK is good so far, as is House of Five Leaves and Fruits Basket. Yamada's First Time is funny yet dodgy and awkward, whilst being sweet.

What is best depends on people who watch it, but among Anime fans and workers in Japan Kyoto Animation and PA Works gets high credit for good artwork and occasionally experimental methods (both are small companies in the provinces but hit-makers).

Kyoto Animation: Clannad (After Story), The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Lucky Star, K-On!, Nichijou, Hyouka, Chuunibyou (current)
PA Works: Angel Beats, True Tears, Hanasaku Iroha, Tari Tari (current)

The two series which were the most popular among hard core anime fans in 2011-2012 were
K-On! (Season 2 and the Movie) and Madoka Magica (now showing the movies).

Madoka Magica is a magical girl story with a surprisingly dark twist and has a brilliant script written by Urobuchi Gen.

The above are about TV series (or films which were made out of TV series) of recent years.

As for movies, Studio Ghibli and director Hayao Miyazaki stands out. Starting from Nausicaa, The Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, Porco Rosso, Pricess Mononoke, Spirited Away are considered classics. He is semi-retired though after making successful but somewhat underwhelming Howl's Moving Castle, Ponyo in recent years.

I'd agree with that, though I quite liked Howl's moving castle and you definitely have to watch them subbed rather than the execrable english language versions. I thought Ponyo was OK but Arriety was dreadful. Poppy Hill was great, save for the very awkward brother/sister issue. But if you like Miyazaki films, try Hotarubi no Mori. It is only short, but it is really good

"Black Lagoon", action/drama, quite dark and sometimes bloody.

"Nana", romance/drama, realistic story about two girls with the same name that runs into each other on the train when both are heading for the city and their boyfriends...

"Kimi ni Todoke", romance/comedy, poor Sawako, looking just like Sadako from Ringu and having a "scary aura" is not nice combination for a shy and friendly girl.

"Azumanga Daioh", comedy, short mini-episodes following the amusing "adventures"(like by car with Yukari-sensei) of a handful of girls.

"Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica", action/drama, excellent mahou shoujo with a rather dark twist.

"Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha", action(/comedy), a mahou shoujo intentionally made aimed for seinen.

"Shion no Oh", drama?, criminal drama combined with boardgaming, sounds silly but the series is quite excellent actually.

"Cowboy Bebop", action, bounty hunters in space, do i need to say more? Classic series.

I think we need to consider the fact that TS wants to *start* watching. So I think the recommended animes should be a little light in story complexity, and rather mainstream to get higher chances of success :)

That said, I will recommend a few of my own:

"Slayers" and all sequels. A bit of a fiesty magical girl set in medieval times. As the episodes start out with mostly comedy, it works towards a more serious end but not without comic relief every now and then.

"Highschool of the Dead", basically beautiful ladies all-around, but set in a classic attack of the zombies kind of horror. It's not scary at all. It's just entertainment.

"K-ON!" and "K-ON!!", have been recommended before. Easy to follow storyline about a group of girls aiming to start a rock band. Some comedy, some drama, some music, the works.

"Kirameki Project", a mini-series of the mecha genre. But with a twist. KP is super-cute and still involves some proper fights. Mostly just a light storyline and mainstream entertainment.

"Dog Days", strange but cute. Story is not too difficult, but just sooo strange. Again, not lewd, just cute :)

My all-time favourite is "Kima ga Nozomu Eien", also known as "Rumbling Hearts". The story is harder to follow, and it's all romance and drama. But man it's such a great anime overall, much more than the sum of its parts. Even the very first episode almost got me in teers.

My all-time second-favourite is "Kanon". Another romance-drama that just has everything quite perfect. It's hard to tell what it's about, since it involves a strange twist that's just hard to put into words. It'd be a spoiler anyways. Difficult story, but laid out in a double season (26 eps) to make it easier to digest.

Your milage may vary :)

Kanon is produced by Kyoto Animation and directed by Tatsuya Ishihara, who's been behind Clannad, Haruhi, Lucky Star, K-On!, Nichijou, and Chunibiyo etc as director or supervisor. He's been having a kind of legendary anime career.

more serious stuff:
higashi no eden
stein's gate
ghost in the shell
wolf's rain
d.gray man

totally not serious stuff:
hale nochi guu
arakawa under the bridge
tentai senshi sunred

I love to watch anime series watched so many by me but Bleach is my favorite of all.