... the same happens to other older anime like Pokémon, Saint Seiya, Sailor Moon, Saber J / J to X... I still like them a lot, but there's plenty of anime series I like better now.
I disagree. Well, I can't disagree that you like newer anime more, but for me the old anime are still at the extreme top of my lists.
Slayers will always be no.1 for me.
Record Of Lodoss War will be up there near it until I die.
Irresponsible Captain Tylor will always be one of my all-time faves.
Saber Marionette J will probably be the only harem anime (in essence that's what it is) I ever like -- all because of Megumi Hayashibara.
I watched all of Rurouni Kenshin and read the manga; the same can hardly be said for shows in a similar vein like Naruto or Bleach -- I think those shows are crap... but Naruto's games are fun.
Cowboy Bebop will undoubtedly be in the top ten.
Serial Experiments Lain was, is, and always will be one of the best avant-garde cyberpunk anime ever.
Angelic Layer is my favorite CLAMP series, although CCS may be close.
Samurai Champloo is still one of the funniest anime I've ever seen and continue to watch, surpassing Excel Saga, which was one of those nostalgic anime I mentioned (I buy the Excel Saga manga as they get released stateside).
Paranoia Agent, while it could be considered a newer anime, will always, always, always be in my top ten list regardless of whatever anime may come out next or that I may "catch up on."
Haibane Renmei was probably the latest addition and skyrocketed
FLCL was fucked up crazy good and that one song is stuck in my head.
Azumanga Daioh got me into Yotsuba&!, so it rightfully secured its position in my top 20 list.
.hack//Sign is one of the series I continue to watch over and over.
Mai-HiME was an immediate favorite of mine and the third anime with OST by Kajiura (I think... Noir, then .hack//Sign, then Mai-HiME).
Full Metal Panic was one of my college faves.
Full Metal Alchemist (first series) is another that slithered its way into my list.
Mononoke immediately leapt into the top ten list from day one; coupled with the Bakeneko story from Ayakashi.
Jigoku Shoujo may be hanging on somewhere around 19 or 20, always leaving a bad taste in my mouth when I watch it.
Bokurano is probably 18 or 19 in my list; the opening theme lured me to it and the ceaselessly depressing content kept me watching it all the way to the depressing end.
Surprise, surprise, Hikaru No Go is and perhaps always will be one of my favorites -- 72 or so captivating episodes about a board game... A BOARD GAME!!
So far I've only considered series. Including short OVAs and movies makes things harder. Urotsukidouji. Vampire Princess Miyu. Magical Twilight (the hentai with student witches). Paprika. Perfect Blue. Millenium Actress. Tokyo Godfathers. Metropolis. Mononoke Hime. Spirited Away. Vampire Hunter D. Macross Plus (how this doesn't at least make top 20 on everyone's list is proof hope is lost for humanity). The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (okay, it's a recent entry like Paprika, but the original premise is old, so it counts). Voices of Distant Stars. Heisei Tanuki Taisen PonPoko. Grave of the Fireflies. Neko No Ongaeshi.
Some anime that I liked that have fallen out of favor:
GS Mikami (I can't find subtitles, so I just sit there watching raws mindlessly).
Risky Safety (the girl annoyed me, but Risky and Safety were so cute).
Desert Punk (immature humor...).
Excel Saga (see above).
Shinesman.
Astrofighter SunRed (not really fallen out of favor, but it's just somewhere in the lower 40).
Magic Knight Rayearth (got me into CLAMP, but preferred the manga).
GeGeGe no Kitaro (when you've seen one season, you've seen them all... literally).
Hellsing (I'll try to get back into it one of these days, but it got pushed out of my list pretty fast).
Mahoujin GuruGuru (still fun to watch, but nowhere near the top anymore).
Yoma (watch it every now and then, but don't like it anymore).
Ninja Scroll (yeah, it got bumped down).
Akira (still one of the most badass soundtracks of all time the world over, though).
Dirty Pair (love, love , love the series... but it's not that good).
Nekojiru (makes you feel dirty for liking it BECAUSE YOU ARE DIRTY FOR LIKING IT).
Noir (bored the fucking piss out of me, but I always got the urge to play a FPS after watching it).
Neon Genesis Evangelion (Gainax's flagship kinda just didn't hold up very well for me).
Haunted Junction (teenaged girl sexually harassing deceased children can only carry a show for so long).
Inuyasha (lost interest as the series dragged on). Naruto (see above notes).
Ranma 1/2 (as you can see, Rumiko's works haven't held up over time for me).
Project A-Ko (the original will always be dear to me, but that's nostalgia at its finest).
Shamanic Princess (loved the style, but that was about it in the end).
Bubblegum Crisis (still great cyberpunk, but not in my top 20).
Alien Nine (watched it, fell asleep, got mind-fucked at the end -- what the fuck man that big alien at the end?!!).
Panty & Stocking w/Garterbelt (hahah, this one is like, top 25 or so for me; still funny because it's still recent).
Pita Ten (my first purely moe anime fave, although it became somewhat forgettable).
Ichigeki Sacchu! Hoihoi-san (pure moe love, but when I'm honest with myself it's nothing special).
Most anime's just about hype. And most anime start off good and then blow chunks starting around episode 40. Sometimes they start off boring and only get good around episode 40. And then sometimes they're good throughout. I haven't seen many of that last kind.