My unconventional list:
1960s:
1st: The Andy Griffith Show
2nd: Green Acres
3rd: Gomer Pyle, USMC
1970s:
1st: All in the Family
2nd: MAS*H
3rd: Eight is Enough (though not a pure sitcom)
1980s:
1st: Bosom Buddies
2nd: Mama’s Family
3rd: Too Close For Comfort
1990s:
1st: Wings
2nd: 3rd Rock From the Sun
3rd: Suddenly Susan
2000s:
1st: Friends
2nd: Just Shoot Me
3rd: Everybody Loves Raymond
Two shows that I watched as a kid and can still picture whole segments:
Sergeant Bilko
F-Troop
Classics or not I will never forget them.
“Who says I’m dumb?”
70’s
1.M.A.S.H.
2.Fawlty Towers
80’s
90’s
00’s
What would you count them as, then? I consider them the two funniest sitcoms of our time, and perhaps ever.
I kinda despise the “Best of All Time” kind of polls. There is no “best” anything–we all like different things in a TV show. These are my personal favorites; that’s all.
70s
-All in the Family
-The Jeffersons (First angry black man on TV was George Jefferson)
80s
-The Cosby Show (It was funny but not sappy, and the cast was excellent).
-Mama’s Family (a straight-up trip!)
-Golden Girls (I’ve seen all the episodes and yet I still tune into Lifetime)
(The 80s had a ton of good sitcoms, it seems. Maybe it was because I was child during that time, and all I did was watch TV.)
90s
-A Different World (as far as I know, the only TV show that focused on college life. It became more political and afrocentric as time went on, in a way mirroring what was happening in real life for a lot of black people. There were no caricatures in the show; all the characters were fleshed out by the final season. Lots of actors got their start on the show, from Marissa Torme to Eric LaSalle. Also featured the late Rosalind Cash, who starred in Omega Man. Excellent overall.)
-The Simpsons (one of those few shows that every demographic watches)
-Frasier (I wasn’t a loyal watcher, but when I did pick up an episode I was never disappointed)
Honorable mention: Living Single. Drew Carey once remarked that Friends was a carbon-copy of this show (which came out first) but for some reason only one of them went on to have eleventy-billion seasons. I think LS was superior, however, if only because it was more realistic and the characters more likeable. Roseanne was also quite good.
00s
-Girlfriends (picks up where Living Single left off. Funnier and more substantive than UPN’s usual offerings)
-Scrubs (it’s funny but I forget that it comes on sometimes)
-The Family Guy (sick but good)
ANother fan of The Games here? I thought I was the only one here who thought that show was brilliant. Nothing listed for your location, but extra points if you’re not in Australia.
But I don’t know if this really counts as a sitcom. It’s shot in handheld, documentary format. I think we need a ruling on this from the judges.
I think mockumentary counts. It’s still basically in sitcom format. Blackadder was the one I wasn’t sure of. BTW I live about 10 minutes from you lol. We were both probably watching WGBH at 3:00 a.m. on Saturdays.
Did WGBH show The Games again recently? I haven’t seen it there since they did a New Year’s Day marathon a few years ago.
I have the first series on a DVD I ordered from the Australian Broadcasting Company website. It took 7 weeks to get here. The second series wasn’t available the last time I checked, and who knows if it ever will be.
Bryan is a dog.
Gina is an iguana.
John is an aphid.
I found a site listing all the Sitcoms ever.
My list is long for each decade, I guess it shows my lack of discernment 
1950s
George Burns and Gracie Allen 1950-1958
The Great Gildersleeve 1955
Mr Peepers 1952-1955
Topper 1953-1956
1960s
My Favorite Martin 1963-1966
Get Smart! 1965-1970
The Monkees 1966-1968
The Munsters 1964-1966
F-Troop 1965-1967
The Addams Family 1964-1966
Hogan’s Heros 1965-1970
70s
Taxi 1978-1983
Welcome Back, Kotter 1975-1979
WKRP in Cincinnati 1978-1982
Doctor in the House 1970-1973
Fernwood 2-night 1977-1978
Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman 1976-1978
Mork and Mindy 1978-1982
House Calls 1979-1982
80s
Police Squad! 1982
E/R 1984-1985
Cheers 1982-1993
Night Court 1984-1992
The Wonder Years 1988-1992
Murphy Brown 1988-1998
Doctor, Doctor 1989-1991
90s
Grand 1990
Dave’s World 1993-1997
The John Larroquette Show 1993-1996
Grace Under Fire 1993-1998
Cybill 1995-1998
2000s
Frasier 1993-2004
Third Rock from the Sun 1996-2001
Will and Grace 19980 present
No sadly I haven’t seen it for a long long time. I actually probably only saw 7 or 8 episodes - but that was some of the best t.v. i ever saw. I should order the dvds - good idea.
1950’s
I Love Lucy (The Bench Mark we grew up with)
George Burns and Gracie Allen (Very ahead of it time or maybe anytime)
1960’s
Dick Van Dyke (2nd most intelligent)
Get Smart! (That’s the second best sitcom I ever saw from the sixties)
**1970’s (The Golden Age of Sitcoms) **
Taxi (Funniest ever but for only about 4 years)
Barney Miller (Most intelligent)
MAS*H
All in the Family (Couldn’t be done today)
Mary Tyler Moore (Very Classy)
**1980’s **
WKRP (Is this 70’s or 80’s. I go with 80’s 2 make it #1)
Night Court (Went on too long, but funnier than Cheers)
**1990’s **
Simpsons
**2000’s **
Does South Park count?
I think sitcoms have died.
Doh. I missed Police Squad and I have all six episodes recorded onto a single precious VHS tape. Funnier than the movies and killed way too soon. All 6 are classics.
Ah, there is a small snag there, potentially. The DVD’s are region 0, so they’ll play anywhere in the world, but they’re recorded in PAL format. You’ll need a DVD player that can convert PAL to NTSC. Unless you specifically looked for that feature, your current player probably won’t do it.
I don’t even watch sitcoms anymore but I did enjoy Seinfeld and Simpsons. Now I am tired of the “canned” laughter and cliched plots.
Seinfeld did much better in the ratings than the Simpsons: in first run and in syndication.