Hmmm it's tricky as most years have similar spread of a few awesome games, a few good ones, and many I just don't care about or didn't really like. If I had to pick it'd maybe be 1996. The start of 3D games really taking off, but also the 16-bit sprite era (which is typically my favorite) was sort of on its swan song and had pretty much been perfected at this point. Year had a nice blend of the two.
Super Mario 64
Super Mario RPG
Mario Kart 64
Wave Race
Pilot Wings
Resident Evil
Pokemon Red/Blue
maybe I'm a bit biased though as I was pretty much the perfect age for these kind of games during this year, being around 10 years old at the time :P.
2011 takes a close second for me, with Gears 3, Minecraft (alpha), Skyrim, Dark Souls, Portal 2, Batman Arkham City.
And then 2012 right after is pretty great just from Borderlands 2, Black Ops 2, and Far Cry 3 alone..
"We hold these truths to be self-evident - all men and women created by the, go-you know.. you know the thing!" - Joe Biden
