5th generation for me! A lot of things happened in that gen:

- There was a gameplay and graphical jump in that gen that we never saw again(at least until now).
- The market demographic changed that gen.(more teenagers,young adults joined to / stayed on the market)
- A lot of different genres that didn't exist before or at least were very rare born in that gen.
- Legendary games were made in that gen(FF7,RE2,Tekken 3,SH,LoD,GT,Crash,Tony Hawk's,etc...);

The 4th, because it played host to the greatest console of all time; the SNES.

5th Gen for me personally. A lot of the greatest games came out during that gen and some franchises really picked up steam during that gen as well.

I say 5th gen. The 4th gen was awesome as well but 5th gen pushed gaming forward in big ways. Cinematic experiences and 3D environments becoming the norm, far greater narratives, more complex gameplay, and arguably a larger number of outstanding games.

This was the 2D vs 3D or the transition. Both were absolute fun generations.

I vote 4th by a razor blade margin. I had a SNES, Genesis+Sega CD, and Playstation and they were all fantastic gaming systems with absolutely great games. Sega Saturn had some real gems as well.

5th hands down for me.

Definitely the 5th for me. The PS1 pretty much forged the world of gaming we have today, so in my eyes it was probably one of the most important consoles ever released (along with the NES). Also, Final Fantasy 9 :P

Still, you can't not love the 4th. It may not have pushed many boundaries, but it certainly stood the test of time well.

Nintendo fans will say 4th gen. The rest of us 5th gen.

I voted 4th. As did shik, another xbox fan... Well, primarily xbox. 

Snes was the shit. 

Snes easily. Not even close. Genesis as well had classic games. Who can play 5th gen games now? Yet super Metroid still gets speed runned. 4th gen aged better because it is better.