Read your opening rankings firaga. I agree on most of it. For me however, the top two is switched around. A friend of mine introduced me to Naruto during the english version of Sasuke Retrieval arc. I barely had an idea of what's happening, and it was my first exposure to actual anime content. I remember tripping nads when i first saw how extremely violent it was at the time since my parents didn't want me watching violent stuff back then. It was when Kiba, Shikamaru and Naruto started fighting their respective enemies. I told myself i wasn't gonna watch it again, but i checked out again the next week. . . and well you know. . . I got into it.
It was due to the opening Seishun Kyosokyoku and how epically animated and put together it was. I wanted to see what happens when Naruto and Sasuke combat with each other. Would Naruto win and bring him back? that was on my mind at the time. Hell, after getting better at the guitar, I even learned how to play this song. I guess you could say that I got into the series a little late, but if it weren't for my friend, I would've never started spiraling down the world of anime/manga.