2002 was the best, though my involvement was spotty during the first half of it. Just a lot of great great content during those days, though I didn't quite hit my stride until like August 2002.
2003 was okay but too much Prince Paul crap sort of ruined it.
2001 was a mess towards the end, when I was there at least. You had the transitional period of the board when we went from blue patterns to blue to bright freaking yellow. Then there were the bannings, of which I was an unlucky recipient as I AM THE ALLIANCE because I called Jeremy Botter anal.
Someone should write a column for the site about the lineage/history of the forum and the site, all the way back to Rantsylvania and the Delphi board. I could always give it a shot--just summarize changes in appearance, personnel, folders, etc. My knowledge of the board only goes to August 2001, so I would need more tenured alumni to collaborate with. It's worth a shot.