OK, I stumbled across some videos on Dailymotion in the format "Top 10 Cartoons of the 2000s", 1990s, and 1980s.  Most of them seemed like solid picks, but there were also a lot of questionable choices.  For one example, "DuckTales" was (rightly, IMO) called one of the "greatest animated adventure series of all time", yet was placed lower on their list than "He-Man", which the video all but calls a series of "cheapo" half-hour advertisements that had some good moments.  The lists are allegedly ranked in order 1 to 10, but the placement seems entirely random. 

Anyway, the reason I'm starting this thread is to see if we can come up with better lists.  What is the collective will of VGChartz?  Admittedly, there will be the slight issue of different TV shows being available/popular in different parts of the world.  If the thread is so successful that serious considerations must be made in this area, I'll be happy to cross that bridge when we come to it. 

On to the lists!  You can follow the links if you want, but I don't think you'll miss much in the description, unless you are unfamiliar with the show.  And if you are, a couple minutes of Google would probably serve you better.  I will put my own list in a following post, to help avoid confusion.  I encourage all who read this thread to contribute their own lists.  If you have fewer than 10, say 5 or 3 or even a single one, don't be shy!  I don't know how I'd weight such suggestions yet, but it will certainly have more weight than saying nothing! 

2000s
1.  Avatar:  The Last Airbender (2005-2008)
2.  Family Guy (1999-2002, 2005-_)
3.  Futurama (1999-2003, 2008-2013)
4.  South Park (1997-_)—(They claim that this series only REALLY took off in the 2000s, though I'd say the 1999 movie argues against that.) 
5.  Spongebob Squarepants (1999-_)
6.  The Venture Bros. (2003-_)
7.  Samurai Jack (2001-2004)
8.  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003-2009)
9.  Teen Titans (2003-2006)
10.  Ben 10 (2005-_)

1990s
1.  The Simpsons (1989-_)
2.  Batman:  The Animated Series (1992-1995)
3.  Beast Wars:  Transformers (1996-1999)
4.  Pokemon (1997-_)  * (Aside from the footnote, this started the same year as South Park, yet goes in a different decade?  WTF, Dailymotion)
5.  Darkwing Duck (1991-1992)
6.  Captain Planet and the Planeteers (1990-1993)
7.  Beavis and Butthead (1992-1997)
8.  The Ren and Stimpy Show (1991-1998)
9.  Spider-Man (1994-1998)
10.  X-Men (1992-1997)

*There's no denying that this was (and is) huge, but I have to wonder if this opens too big a can of worms.  How can we include Pokemon while not allowing all the other anime for consideration?  The Dailymotion lists were pretty biased towards US broadcast which let them get away with this sort of fudging, but I don't know if our list can allow this sort of thing, which is to say, if it's a list of Western-made or US-aimed cartoons, can we really include Pokemon, which was originally made by and for the Japanese, no matter what fame it achieved in the US? 

1980s
1.  Jim Henson's Muppet Babies (1984-1991)
2.  Transformers (1984-1987)
3.  G.I. Joe (1985-1986)
4.  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987-1990)
5.  He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1983-1985)
6.  The Real Ghostbusters (1986-1991)
7.  DuckTales (1987-1990)
8.  Ewoks (1985-1987)
8.  The Care Bears (1985-1988)—Dailymotion actually dissed this show by saying, "No, we can't do this, get a new #8"—harsh! 
9.  Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (1981-1986)—wow, what an awkward title!
10.  The Smurfs (1981-1990)

2000s
First, about their list:
Wow, I kinda knew Ben 10 was big, but I didn't know it was almost a decade old at this point! South Park belongs in the 90s since that's when it took off, same as Pokemon, as I mentioned above. Also, I have no idea whether the TMNT is as good as they say.

I admit, I have an ulterior motive for putting South Park in a different decade. I have more series to add to the list than series I feel like booting out of a top 10 list. No discussion of cartoons of that era is complete without mention of Invader Zim IMO, and, similarly, no such list is complete on this forum without Kim Possible. RolStoppable will see to that, so I decided to beat him to the punch. Also, Powerpuff Girls.

1.  Futurama (1999-2003, 2008-2013)
2.  Samurai Jack (2001-2004)
3.  Avatar:  The Last Airbender (2005-2008)
4.  Spongebob Squarepants (1999-_)
5.  Kim Possible (2002-2005, 2007)
6.  Family Guy (1999-2002, 2005-_)
7.  Invader Zim (2001-2003)
8.  The Venture Bros. (2003-_)
9.  Fairly OddParents (2001-_)
10.  Batman Beyond (1999-2001)

[edit:  Booted Powerpuff Girls and Teen Titans in favor of Fairly OddParents and Batman Beyond.]

1990s
First, about their list:
Their list was poorly thought out, obviously. Who can seriously think Captain Planet deserves to be anywhere NEAR such a list?  There are some good picks there, but probably by accident.  And why does Spider-Man deserve to be there more than Superman?

1.  The Simpsons (1989-_)
2.  Batman: The Animated Series (1992-1995)
3.  The Ren and Stimpy Show (1991-1998)
4.  South Park (1997-_)
5.  Dexter's Laboratory (1996-2003)
6.  Rugrats (1991-2004)
7.  X-Men (1992-1997)
8.  Tiny Toon Adventures (1990-1995)
9.  Animaniacs (1993-1998)
10.  Gargoyles (1994-1997)

[edit:  I can hardly believe I forgot to put Rugrats in the list!]
[edit2:  Fine, Gargoyles.]

1980s
First, about their list:
Like I said in the OP, their list is trash. They obviously chose the order almost at random despite #1 allegedly being the best, and more than one entry doesn't deserve to be there. The list is such a joke that they literally joke about it.

1.  DuckTales (1987-1990)
2.  Jim Henson's Muppet Babies (1984-1991)
3.  Transformers (1984-1987)
5.  The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1988-1991)
6.  Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears (1985-1991)
7.  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987-1990)
8.  Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers (1989-1990)
9.  The Smurfs (1981-1990)
10.  Inspector Gadget (1983-1986)

I may be biased towards the Disney Channel here, but damn if they weren't putting out quality television in the late 80s to early 90s.

[edit:  No matter how fond I am of Talespin, having a 1990-1991 show in the 1980s category was clearly wrong ]

Zim not No1, list not valid.

For inspiration, check out this video (first of around a dozen!) or opening sequences for shows from the 80s and 90s.

I love Invader Zim, but Futurama?  Samurai Jack?  Come on.  I'd be willing to negotiate a little, but Zim is doing extremely well just to be playing with the big boys here, never mind coming out on top. 

no life with louie?

The 90's need more Gargoyles. Also:

Galaxy Rangers

SilverHawks

ThunderCats

Even if they aren't top 10 material it's my duty as a Sega fan to bring the cool stuff, so here is some:

Bots Master

Exo Squad

C.O.P.S.

Centurions

M.A.S.K.

Denver the Last Dinosaur

Spiral Zone

Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors

Biker Mice from Mars

So many good cartoons from the 80's and early 90's, and that's without anime...

I'm leaving out spanish cartoons, even if Willy Fogg, David the Gnome and Mofli the Last Koala were great.

Edit - You should consider moving the thread to the movies section to get more exposure, for some reason General Discussion threads don't show up in the hot topics. Also, no Fairly OddParents in the 2000's?

Sounds good, but how can I move the thread? 

I looked at some of the videos.  Galaxy Rangers seems pretty good for a kids' show, and I like outer space as much as the next guy, but I doubt I'd give anything in my current list the boot for it.  SilverHawks is frankly too silly a premise judging by what I can see in the intro, and Thundercats ... well, no. 

Gargoyles was one of my favorite shows, but again, I don't know what I'd take off the current list in favor of it. 

I'd be willing to listen to arguments for Fairly OddParents, though.  I suppose Teen Titans would have to go?