I got the N64 in 1997, still working perfectly today. I got a PS1 not long after that and it broke within 3 months and we never got it replaced. I found the N64 to be amazing with Mario stepping into the world of 3D and the sound of birds chirping and his footsteps as he ran were amazing at the time. To me, the PS1 felt like a souped up SNES and not the next big thing it would become.
I did play the PS1 extensively at my uncles house though and loved playing Metal Gear Solid and the F1 games but nothing much else outside of that really grew on me and made me want to continue playing. For example, I found Crash Bandicoot to be boring compared with Mario 64.. The PS1 just didn't have the same magic and charm as the N64 and I found the controller to feel much lesser quality at the time.
My favourite games from the generation included: Mario 64, DK64, Banjo Kazooie, Super Smash Bros, Mario Kart 64, F1 Championship 98 (I think that was the game, N64 game), 007 and Mario Party 2. Having Pokemon on the N64 also helped it's cause.
So to me, the Nintendo 64 was far superior to the PS1 as it had my tastes in gaming covered. It also was home to one of my newest favourite games, Majora's Mask, which I recently played as it came available via VC. PS1 doesn't come close.
